The importance of the temporal dimension: new modes of governance as a tool of government

This article offers an alternative perspective to those which view ‘new modes of governance’ as evidence of a democratic-participatory turn in the European Union. The temporal dimension in public policy analysis is emphasized. New modes of governance, such as the Open Method of Co-ordination and civil dialogue, are unlikely to reduce the democratic deficit in the short term. Indeed by enhancing the role of unelected institutions and allowing national executives to bypass sceptical electorates, such processes may undermine democracy in the Union. Over the long term, however, new modes of governance and their accompanying narrative may have an important role to play in the European integration process, even contributing to the ‘invention’ of a people for the European Union.