Democracy and the European Union. Theory, practice and reform

Book abstract:

The opening lines of the preface to this book might well read 'Leave your baggage at the door ...' and the notice on the door may well read 'No preconceived opinions here!' such is the eagerness with which Alex Warleigh attacks the subject.

Moving from the basic hypothesis that the principle obstacles to democratic reform in the EU are deficits of legitimacy, the book explores the various strategies deployed to enhance the Union's democracy since the Single European Act of 1986. It opens with an overview of the literature on the democratic deficit and answers four key questions:

- What is the 'democratic deficit' and how did it arise?
- Why has there been a 'normative turn' in EU studies, and what does it entail?
- How is democracy best defined in the EU context?
- What models of democracy beyond the state exist, and how can they be applied to the EU?

Chapter two argues that a solution to the problem of how to democratise the EU can be found, and goes on to explore functionalism, federalism and the application of critical deliberativism. Sovereignty, subsidiarity and flexibility as both inhibitors and accelerators of democracy in the EU is the main theme of chapter three. The European Parliament is the institution most commonly associated with the EU's democracy problem and is the focus of chapter four - 'Institutional Reform'. The following chapter explores the degree to which the increase in the EU competencies has been accompanied by a reduction in the democratic deficit, considering that the EU might begin to have more relevance for its citizens. Policies in relation to environment and regional development are examined and questions asked as to their capacity to increase the EU's perceived legitimacy. The EU may continue to be seen by citizens of the Member States as a 'foreign' institution and effectively set themselves apart from it. The task of bringing them into 'citizenship of the EU' represents one of the greatest obstacles to increased democracy and this is explored in chapter six. A summary of these difficulties encountered in the EU's democratisation project is given in the concluding chapter. The author draws on the studies of Union processes, structures and practices of governance contained in the earlier chapters and concludes that it is in the hands of the citizens of Member States to progress democratisation of the EU - but first they will need to commit to citizenship of the EU.

The work will interest students, academics, policy researchers and makers in the fields of European Studies, International Relations and EU Governance..

Alex Warleigh is Reader in European Governance and Deputy Director at the Institute of Governance, Public Policy and Social Research, Queen's University Belfast.