Debating the Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union

Debating the Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union PDF

Author: Beate Kohler-Koch

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Published: 2007-04-18

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 074257640X

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The discussion about a constitution for the European Union and its rejection by referendum in two of the EU founding member states has once again spurred public and scholarly interest in the democratic quality and potential of the European Union. Debating the Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union brings together distinguished thinkers from law, political science, sociology, and political philosophy to explore the potential for democratically legitimate governance in the European Union. Drawing on different theoretical perspectives and strands from democratic theory, this volume is the first of its kind to overcome the present state of fragmentation in the debate about the conditions and possible remedies for what is often called the "democratic deficit" of the European Union. Among the pressing questions addressed by the contributors are: What future is there for parliamentary democracy in the European Union? Can we observe the evolution of a European public sphere and civil society? Can participatory democracy or deliberative democracy pave the road for a democratically legitimate European Union? Conversations about democracy have engaged the public in a new way since the beginning of the Iraq war, and this volume is the best resource for students and readers who are interested in democracy in the European Union. Contributions by: Rudy B. Andeweg, Katrin Auel, Arthur Benz, Lars-Erik Cederman, Damian Chalmers, Deirdre Curtin, Donatella Della Porta, Klaus Eder, Erik O. Eriksen, Ulrich Haltern, Hubert Heinelt, Doug Imig, Christian Joerges, Beate Kohler-Koch, Christopher Lord, Paul Magnette, Andreas Maurer, Jeremy Richardson, Berthold Rittberger, Rainer Schmalz-Bruns, Michael Th. Greven, Hans-Jörg Trenz, and Armin von Bogdandy

Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy in the European Union

Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy in the European Union PDF

Author: Sonia Lucarelli

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-08-06

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1136850902

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How can we conceptualize identity and legitimacy in the context of the European union? What is the role of narratives, political symbols, public debate and institutional practices in the process of identity formation and legitimacy consolidation? Debating Political Identity and Legitimacy in the European Union addresses these questions and brings together high profile scholars from various disciplinary backgrounds to debate the ontological and epistemological aspects of research on identity and legitimacy formation in the EU. Part I investigates key elements such as the relationship between ‘Europeanization’ of the EU member states and its effect on the political identity of their citizens; the relationship between the politicization of the EU and processes of identity and legitimacy formation; and the indispensability of European identity for legitimizing the EU. Part II looks at pathways to identity formation and legitimacy construction in the EU by considering alternative types of constitutional legitimacy; political symbolism; Europeanization and politicization of the debate on EU focusing on the foreign policy domain. Bringing together a wide but coherent range of high profile perspectives, this book will of interest to students and scholars of European studies, Political Science, Philosophy, Sociology and Law.

Debating the Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union

Debating the Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union PDF

Author: Beate Kohler-Koch

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 9780742554924

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Recoge: 1. Democracy. -- 2. What future for parliamentary democracy in the EU. -- 3. The public sphere and civil society: prerequisites for democratically legitimate rule making. -- 4. Democracy and political participation. -- 5. Deliberative democracy.

Democratic Dilemmas of Multilevel Governance

Democratic Dilemmas of Multilevel Governance PDF

Author: J. DeBardeleben

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2007-09-27

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 0230591787

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Focusing on the EU, this volume, with a combination of theoretical perspectives and empirical research, examines the problems multilevel governance causes for democratic legitimacy by placing it in a comparative and theoretical context, and explore how challenges faced by the EU compare with those faced by traditional federal systems worldwide.

Democracy in the European Union

Democracy in the European Union PDF

Author: Erik Oddvar Eriksen

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 9780415225915

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It is widely believed that the European Union suffers from a democratic deficit. This then raises a fundamental question: can democracy ever be applied to decision-making bodies beyond the nation-state? How we conceive of democracy itself is essential to how we understand its deficit, and this book, with its impressive array of highly influential contributors, presents a theoretical approach which enables us to think of democracy at a supra-national level. Bringing together the ideas of major thinkers such as Bellamy, Habermas, Joerges and Schlesinge, Democracy in the European Union presents pioneering and original work on a key issue in contemporary politics. With in-depth analysis from high-calibre writers, this book is a unique contribution to debates about democracy and the European Union, for all upper-level undergraduate and graduate students of politics, European studies, democratic studies, and international relations, as well as professionals and policy-makers.

The European Union: How Democratic Is It?

The European Union: How Democratic Is It? PDF

Author: Svein S Andersen

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 1996-02-27

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780761951131

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Taking as its starting point the major issues of democracy which are the ongoing concerns of every liberal Western political system, this volume offers a wide-ranging review of democracy in the European Union. It treats the EU as a new type of political system within the tradition of parliamentary democracies, a system which is neither federal nor intergovernmental, and which consequently has unique problems of how to handle democratic requirements. Part One deals with the two major challenges of interest articulation in the EU, political parties and lobbying. The second part discusses how democracy becomes the key element in the linkage between the EU and its member states, focusing on France, Italy and Belgium where the r

Legitimacy and the European Union

Legitimacy and the European Union PDF

Author: David Beetham

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-17

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 1317884396

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Most of the contemporary debates about the European Union - about its role, its institutional arrangements, its development dynamic, its expansion and possible futures - revolve around the issue of political legitimacy. Legitimacy and the European Union addresses the fundamental issues at the heart of the debates on Europe and examines such key questions as:- -What is the scope of the EU's authority -Is there a legitimacy deficit? If so, how much does it matter -Does political legitimacy only reside in the nation state? Using a multi-dimensional conception of political legitimacy, the text analyses the character and problems of the European Union's authority in respect of democracy, political identity and governmental performance. Its distinctive claim is that political legitimacy can now only be understood as a process of interaction between the state and EU levels, and that this interaction impacts differentially on different member states.

The European Union and the People

The European Union and the People PDF

Author: Mette Elise Jolly

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2007-05-24

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0191526584

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The European Union is frequently accused of having a 'democratic deficit'. Many commentators argue that this could be remedied by increasing the powers of the European Parliament relative to those of the Council and the Commission. The fact that the European Parliament is the only EU institution whose members are directly elected leads to the assumption that it is also the most legitimate. The author argues that this position is based on the flawed assumption that the nature of the European citizenry is similar to those of the member states. In other words, the position assumes that the union has a demos, or a people, who are prepared to accept majority outcomes even when finding themselves in the minority. In this book the author argues that this is not the case and that the most severe dimension of the democracy problem is not procedural, but socio-psychological. The fact that the EU does not have a people means that establishing an EU-wide democracy based on analogies to domestic political systems is likely to lead to a further loss of democratic legitimacy. The EU can rely on output legitimacy in policy areas which do not require pan-European solidarity and identity and in which policy-making at EU-level increases efficiency and thereby benefits all citizens. However, policy areas which require high levels of solidarity or a common identity should either remain fully within the nation states, or be subject to intergovernmental rather than supranational decision-making at EU-level.