Democracy in the European Union

Book abstract:

Aiming to capture the dominant character of the relationship between democracy and European integration, this book offers an account of alternative approaches to the origins, nature and development of the 'democratic deficit' of the European Union. Its central thesis is that such a 'deficit' stems as much from the inadequacy of existing institutional arrangements to meet the requirements of democratic shared-rule as it does from the absence of a traditional demos, capable of directing its democratic claims to and via the central institutions.

Such an analysis addresses the questions not only of who governs, but also of who is governed, suggesting that democracy cannot exist without a demos conscious of its political identity. The author maintains that the more the Union approximates to a politically organised 'union of peoples', the greater the possibilities for developing democracy within its structures. Thus, what is absolutely essential for the democratisation of the Union is the development of a 'sense of community' among its component state/citizen parts.

It is also suggested that the present Union approximates to a new type of collective entity, based on the properties of consensus elite government. The crucial question is whether the emerging European polity can move beyond executive dominance and transform itself from democracies to democracy.

The author is Reader in European Integration at the University of Exeter, School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies.