A History of European Disability Campaigns: Civil society, social movements and opportunities for counterhegemonic change

Europe has proven itself to be an important site for disability activists as the European Union has developed into a body politic. As an experimental sphere of governance, it has been prone to periods of structural openness where gains have been made by the movement in terms of recognition, claims upon the state and legislation. Disabled people and their organisations have utilised windows of opportunity to campaign for legislative change and these mobilisations have produced varied results.
As the EU has expanded and deepened its competencies, a legitimating function for the formal EU civil society sphere has developed. Social movement organisations have been selected to participate in this sphere on behalf of the interests of their communities. Here they face a dilemma: participation in forums and consultations can lead to policies that better align with social movement interests, but such forums frequently lack accountability mechanisms to ensure that the claims of social movement organisations are taken up by decision makers. Understanding how these forums can best be utilised is of key importance to organisations with often limited resources.
The study builds an understanding of the types of campaigns that have been run in the past by the disabled people’s movement at the European level. It analysed in detail three campaigns led by an umbrella organisation that represents the interests of disabled people in EU-level decision-making. This led to the creation of a collective action framework to aid disabled people’s organisations in their future activities. It also shows how civil society acts as an enabler and constrainer of social movement organisations in realising their potential as historic blocs. While campaigns have been run with success, the dynamics of formal civil society forums also limit the potential of systemic change led by social movements.