Democracy in Europe: Legitimising Politics in a Non-State Polity

by Heidrun Abromeit

Overview

Since the beginning of the European Community students of international politics and of international, resp. Constitutional law, have been wondering what kind of animal it is, and will be, once integration has been completed. Whereas the EC Treaty of 1957 stressed the economic aspects and envisioned a steady and dynamic progress towards a Single Market, it was conspicuously silent about the political implications of integration and the new democratic order. What is needed, so the author argues in this powerful and original contribution to the debate on democratisation of the European Union, is a flexible system that supplements the European decision-making process with various direct democratic instruments such as the use of referenda. These would serve to increase the accountability of the politicians without demanding or requiring a definitive resolution of the exact constitutional status of the Union.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571819857
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	10/01/1998
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Lexile:	1530L (what's this?)

About the Author

Heidrun Abromeit received her Ph.D. and her Habilitation from the University of Mannheim. She has published extensively on the relations between state and industry in Western Europe andnow holds a professorship at the University of Darmstadt.

Table of Contents

Foreword
List of Abbreviations

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Incompatibilities

• The Concept of ‘Sovereignty’
• Federalism
• Democracy
• Conclusion

Chapter 3. Inadequate Solutions

• The Recent Reform Debate
• Parliamentarisation
• Multi-Cameralism
• Federalism
• Conclusion

Chapter 4. In Search of an Adequate Model: Theoretical Considerations

• Contract Theory
• Fiscal Federalism
• Concepts of Group Representation
• Network Analysis and Game Theory
• New Normative Democratic Theory
• Conclusion

Chapter 5. A Proposal for the Democratisation of the EU

• The Practical Task
• A System of Veto Rights
• Regional Subunits: the Assignment of Powers
• Sectoral Subunits: How to Distinguish Them
• Procedures
• Some Illustrations
• A Summary of the Proposal

Chapter 6. Major Objections

• Democratic Ambivalence (or: How Democratic is Democracy?)
• Democracy vs. Efficiency
• Biases and Asymmetries
• The acquis communautaire

Chapter 7. Models and Realities

Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Contributing to the theoretical debate about governance beyond the state that has shadowed European integration from the beginning, suggests a flexible system that supplements the European decision- making process with various direct democratic instruments that would increase the accountability of politicians without demanding or requiring definitive resolutions of the constitutional state of the European Union. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews