Democratic Dilemmas of Multilevel Governance - Legitimacy, Representation and Accountability in the European Union

The 'democratic deficit' of the European Union is a much discussed-concern of politicians and commentators, and this insightful collection argues that this is a result of the multi-level nature of EU governance. Popular loyalties become divided between levels of government, lines of accountability become ambiguous and supranational institutions seem distant from citizens.These challenges are part of broader globalizing processes that have destabilized the traditional notion of the nation state and replaced it with multilevel forms of governance across the globe. Focusing on the EU, this volume examines the problems multilevel governance causes for democratic legitimacy by placing it in a comparative and theoretical context, and explore how challenges faced by the EU compare with those faced by traditional federal systems worldwide. Through a combination of theoretical perspectives and empirical research, this book offers the means to evaluate the various explanations for the problems facing democracy within the EU and shows how legitimacy and accountability can be improved.

List of Tables List of Figures List of Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Preface Introduction; J.DeBardeleben & A.Hurrelman PART ONE: MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE AND DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY: CONCEPTUAL ISSUES Multilevel Legitimacy: Conceptualizing Legitimacy Relationships Between the EU and National Democracies; A.Hurrelmann Federalism and Democratic Accountability; J.Smith Between Anarchy and Hierarchy: Governance Lessons From Global Economic Institiutions; R.Germain PART TWO: SOCIAL UNDERPINNINGS OF DEMOCRACY IN THE EU Europeanization and Democracy: The Question of Cultural Identity; G.Delanty The Quest for a European Public Sphere: News Media and Democratic Legitimacy; H.Wessler, M.Brüggemann, K.Kleinen-von Königslöw, S.Sifft & A.Wimmel Is There a European Society? Social Conditions for Democracy in the European Union; A.Hurrelmann PART THREE: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE EU'S MULTILEVEL SYSTEM European Elections and Democratic Accountability: The 2004 Elections to the European Parliament; L.LeDuc National Parliaments and European Integration: Learning to Play the Multilevel Game; T.Raunio Organized Civil Society and Input Legitimacy in the EU;J.Greenwood PART FOUR: EU ENLARGEMENT, DEMOCRACY AND MULTILEVEL GOVERNANCE Euroscepticism as a Path for Inclusion: Multilevel Governance in the EU as Seen from the East; D.Ost Gender Equality and Multilevel Governance in East Central Europe;Y.Galligan & S.Clavero Conclusion;J>DeBardeleben & A.Hurrelmann Bibliography Index