Closing or Widening the Gap?: Legitimacy and Democracy in Regional Integration Organizations

by Hoffmann,Andrea Ribeiro

• ISBN13: 9780754649687
• ISBN10: 0754649687
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

approaches a seriously understudied question in research on regionalism. For a long time, the analysis of legitimacy and democracy in regional organizations has been limited to the European Union. As this volume demonstrates, there is a lot we can learn from interregional comparison. Frank Schimmelfennig, ETH Zurich, Switzerland This volume clarifies and explains the connections between regional international governance, legitimacy and democracy. It combines normative analysis and theory-driven empirical research in a comparative framework. This book focuses on the quality of democracy and the legitimacy of policymaking in multilevel regional systems. It offers - a much-needed clarification of confusing concepts such as legitimacy, democracy and 'civil society' in non-national political systems - a critical assessment of the quality of democracy and legitimacy within different Regional International Oganizations (RIOs) - an examination of networks of non-state actors becoming a kind of transnational civil society and assessing their potential for solving legitimacy deficits - an investigation of the impact of democratic conditionality in different RIOs It aims to deepen our understanding of a relatively new non-state actor on the international scene: the regional international organization. Furthermore, it investigates the potential contribution of transnational non-state actors to the quality of governance at the regional level. It aims to get a better understanding of legitimacy in multilevel systems where RIOs, non-state actors and states interact. Contents: Series editors' preface; Part 1 Introduction: Foreword. Ancient method, novel subject, ambiguous outcome, Philippe Schmitter; Legitimacy, democracy and RIOs: what is the issue?, Anna van der Vleuten and Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann. Part 2 Defining and Assessing Legitimacy and Democracy in RIOs: RIOs, legitimacy and democracy, A conceptual clarification, Berry Tholen; Discussing regional and domestic democracy, Juliana Erthal; The question of input, control and output legitimacy in economic RIOs, Bob Reinalda. Part 3 RIOs, Regional Parliaments and Subnational State Actors: Regional parliaments in Europe and Latin America: between empowerment and irrelevance, Andrés Malamud and Luís de Sousa; Sub-national state actors and their role in regional governance, Marcelo A. Medeiros. Part 4 RIOs. Legitimacy and Non-State Actors: I there any room for legitimacy by civil society in Mercosour?, Michelle Ratton Sanchez; The contribution of non-state actors to the legitimacy of Caricom, Gerda van Roozendaal. Part 5 RIOs and the Member States: Legitimacy and Democracy: Contrasting cases: explaining interventions by SADC and ASEAN, Anna van der Vleuten; Political conditionality and democratic clauses in the EU and Mercosur, Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann. Part 6 Conclusion: Legitimacy and democracy in RIOs: closing or widening the gap?, Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann and Anna van der Vleuten; Index. About the Author: Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann is Assistant Professor in IR, Instituto de Relações Internacionais, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Anna van der Vleuten is Assistant Professor in IR/European Integration in the Department of Political Science at Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Legitimacy, democracy and RIOs: where is the gap?

Defining and Assessing Legitimacy and Democracy in RIOs

RIOs, legitimacy and democracy, A conceptual clarification

Discussing regional democracy

The question of input, control and output legitimacy in economic RIOs

RIOs, Regional Parliaments and Subnational State Actors

Regional parliaments in Europe and Latin America: between empowerment and irrelevance

Sub-national state actors and their role in regional governance

RIOs. Legitimacy and Non-State Actors

Is there any room for input and control legitimacy by civil society in Mercosur?

The contribution of non-state actors to the legitimacy of the Caricom

RIOs and the Member States

Legitimacy and Democracy

Contrasting cases: explaining interventions by SADC and ASEAN

Political conditionality and democratic clauses in the EU and Mercosur

Conclusion

Legitimacy and democracy in Regional Integration Organizations: closing or widening the gap?

Index

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