Publication: On democracy in Europe and democratization of Europe
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2004
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Abstract
For better or worse, the future of democracy in Europe
has come to depend on the democratization of Europe, i.e. on redesigning
the institutions of the European Union so that they are more
accountable to the citizens of Europe. While there is not yet much
evidence of an awareness of this “democratic deficit” in mass publics,
there are abundant Europe-wide signs of increased politicization -most
of which point to growing popular resistance to the further expansion of
the scope and authority of European integration. Moreover, both
monetary unification and impending Eastern enlargement seem
destined to exacerbate rather than attenuate tensions over the uneven
distribution of benefits. Were this not enough, there is mounting
evidence that EU institutions and policies are having a significant
impact upon the practice of “domestic democracy” in its member states,
and that, at least in some aspects, this has undermined the legitimacy
and effectiveness of established national political institutions.