Popular power in the European Union : Delegated or Alienated?

• The important role played by national governments in the creation of European institutions and policies is often invoked to reinforce the democratic legitimacy of the European Union. As long as leaders of all states constitutive of the EU are democratically elected, the EU has a reasonable claim to democratic legitimacy for itself, regardless of how it creates policies and institutions on an everyday basis. The powers of the EU are delegated by, and not alienated from, national democracies. Notwithstanding the importance in political practice of this attempt at defending the democratic legitimacy of the EU, this chapter suggests that it fails on theoretical grounds alone and that the normative problem indicated by this failure is aggravated as a consequence of the euro crisis. The chapter identifies more promising avenues toward a legitimate EU by examining democracy defined as a particular form of constituent power.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap -- Statsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science -- Political Science (hsv//eng)

Keyword

democracy

legitimacy

delegation

alienation

crisis

constituent power

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)