Author (Person) | Scharpf, Fritz W. |
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Series Title | MPIfG Working Papers |
Series Details | No 1, February 2009 |
Publication Date | February 2009 |
Content Type | Journal | Series | Blog |
In order to be simultaneously effective and liberal, governments must normally be able to count on voluntary compliance – which, in turn, depends on the support of socially shared legitimacy beliefs. In Western constitutional democracies, such beliefs are derived from the distinct but coexistent traditions of “republican” and “liberal” political philosophy. When judged by these criteria, the European Union – if considered by itself – appears as a thoroughly liberal polity which, however, lacks all republican credentials. But this view (which seems to structure the debates about the “European democratic deficit”) ignores the multilevel nature of the European polity, where the compliance of This is not necessarily true of “non-political” policy choices imposed by the European Court of Justice. By enforcing its “liberal” program of liberalization and deregulation, the ECJ may presently be undermining the “republican” bases of member-state legitimacy. Where this is the case, open non-compliance is a present danger, |
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Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/pu/workpap/wp09-1.pdf |
Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
Countries / Regions | Europe |