There is no contesting the ubiquity of the term governance in contemporary social science and public discourse. From a rather innocuous start as a term to describe ways in which corporate firms should be managed, it has come to challenge some of the dominant forms of understanding social order. Structures and approaches such as government and pluralism have given way to governance. It is no coincidence that this development coincides with growing questions about the continuing viability and utility of concepts that have the national state as the epicentre for politics and social order in the modern era. Moreover, it also has emerged in parallel with a concern with how to understand the nature and role of civil society in governing, especially in the European polity building process. Contributors to this volume address important issues about the terms of representation in politics beyond the state. If the traditional structures of the national state no longer are the ideal or sole 'container' of political life, how can we ensure that interests and demands can have access to decision-making? On the one hand, new opportunities may open up for parts of civil society whose previous access to political power was circumscribed. The central focus of the volume is on the extent to which governance, and all it implies for new forms of governing, addresses as well as raises issues about the legitimate basis for democratic rule beyond the boundaries of the state. The volume relates to the interests of political philosophers and policy analysts interested in issues of legitimacy and representation in the European Union.