Democratic Dilemmas of Multilevel Governance Legitimacy, Representation and Accountability in the European Union

by DeBardeleben, Joan; Hurrelmann, Achim

• ISBN13: 9780230500778
• ISBN10: 0230500773
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The 'democratic deficit' of the European Union is a much discussed-concern of politicians and commentators, and this insightful collection argues that this is a result of the multi-level nature of EU governance. Popular loyalties become divided between levels of government, lines of accountability become ambiguous and supranational institutions seem distant from citizens.These challenges are part of broader globalizing processes that have destabilized the traditional notion of the nation state and replaced it with multilevel forms of governance across the globe. Focusing on the EU, this volume 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. Through a combination of theoretical perspectives and empirical research, this book offers the means to evaluate the various explanations for the problems facing democracy within the EU and shows how legitimacy and accountability can be improved.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. vii
List of Tables	p. viii
List of Abbreviations	p. ix
Notes on the Contributors	p. xi
Series Preface	p. xvi
Preface	p. xviii
Introduction	p. 1
Multilevel Governance and Democratic Legitimacy: Conceptual Issues	p. 15
Multilevel Legitimacy: Conceptualizing Legitimacy Relationships between the EU and National Democracies	p. 17
Federalism and Democratic Accountability	p. 38
Between Anarchy and Hierarchy: Governance Lessons from Global Economic Institutions	p. 59
Social Underpinnings of Democracy in the EU	p. 75
Europeanization and Democracy: the Question of Cultural Identity	p. 77
The Quest for a European Public Sphere: News Media and Democratic Legitimacy	p. 94
Is There a European Society? Social Conditions for Democracy in the EU	p. 117
Political Participation in the EU's Multilevel System	p. 137
European Elections and Democratic Accountability: the 2004 Elections to the European Parliament	p. 139
National Parliaments and the Future of European Integration: Learning to Play the Multilevel Game	p. 158
Organized Civil Society and Input Legitimacy in the EU	p. 177
EU Enlargement, Democracy and Multilevel Governance	p. 195
Euroscepticism as a Path for Inclusion: Multilevel Governance in the EU as Seen from the East	p. 197
Gender Equality and Multilevel Governance in East Central Europe	p. 216
Conclusion	p. 240
Select Bibliography	p. 244
Index	p. 250
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