Deliberative Democracy in the EU. Countering Populism with Participation and Debate. CEPS Paperback

Ålander, Minna and Baboš, Pavol and Białożyt, Wojciech and Blockmans, Steven and Chatzistavrou, Filippa and Gostyńska-Jakubowska , Agata and Gutiérrez-Peris, Dídac and Bond, Ian and Iso-Markku, Tuomas and Iveta Kazoka, Iveta Kazoka and Kovář , Jan and Kratochvíl , Petr and Kucharczyk, Jacek and González, Paula Lamoso and Le Quiniou, Romain and Milford-Faber, Susan and Mureșan, Bogdan and Papanikolaou, Papanikolaou and Pazderski, Filip and Poli, Eleonora and Madsen, William Rohde and Russack, Sophia and Margalef, Héctor Sánchez and Schaller, Stefan and Schmidt , Paul and Sebe , Mihai and Slavov, Atanas and Smilov , Daniel and Sørensen, Catharina and Sychra , Zdeněk and Tarasova, Sintija and Vaș, Eliza and Világi, Aneta and Vizgunova , Elizabete and von Ondarza , Nicolai and Youngs, Richard. (2020) Deliberative Democracy in the EU. Countering Populism with Participation and Debate. CEPS Paperback. Series > Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels) > CEPS Paperbacks . UNSPECIFIED. ISBN 978-1-5381-4443-5

PDF - Published Version Download (4Mb)

Abstract

Elections are the preferred way to freely transfer power from one term to the next and from one political party or coalition to another. They are an essential element of democracy. But if the process of power transfer is corrupted, democracy risks collapse. Reliance on voters, civil society organisations and neutral observers to fully exercise their freedoms as laid down in international human rights conventions is an integral part of holding democratic elections. Without free, fair and regular elections, liberal democracy is inconceivable. Elections are no guarantee that democracy will take root and hold, however. If the history of political participation in Europe over the past 800 years is anything to go by, successful attempts at gaining voice have been patchy, while leaders’ attempts to silence these voices and consolidate their own power have been almost constant (Blockmans, 2020). Recent developments in certain EU member states have again shown us that democratically elected leaders will try and use majoritarian rule to curb freedoms, overstep the constitutional limits of their powers, protect the interests of their cronies and recycle themselves through seemingly free and fair elections. In their recent book How Democracies Die, two Harvard professors of politics write: “Since the end of the Cold War, most democratic breakdowns have been caused not by generals and soldiers but by elected governments themselves” (Levitsky and Ziblatt, 2018).

Actions (login required)