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The European Union. Democratic Legitimacy in a Regional State? IHS Political Science Series: 2003, No. 91

Schmidt, Vivien (2003) The European Union. Democratic Legitimacy in a Regional State? IHS Political Science Series: 2003, No. 91 .

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Abstract

The ‘democratic deficit’ represents a greater problem for EU member-states individually than for the EU as a whole. Legitimacy for the EU is problematic mainly if it is contrasted with a national democracy such as the US, which has finality as a nation-state and legitimacy predicated on government ‘by, of, and for the people’ as well as ‘with the people’. Instead, the EU is best considered as a regional state, with divided sovereignty, variable boundaries, multiple levels and modes of governance, composite identity, and an incomplete democracy in which government for and with the people is emphasized over and above government by and of the people. This puts special burdens on national politics and demands better discourse to legitimize the changes in national polities.

Item Type:Working Paper
Public Domain:Yes
Refereed:No
Status:Published
Authors, Individual:Schmidt, Vivien
Editors:Kritzinger, Sylvia
Title:The European Union. Democratic Legitimacy in a Regional State? IHS Political Science Series: 2003, No. 91
Language:English
Institution:Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna
Journals and Series:Series > Institute for Advanced Studies (Vienna), Department of Political Science > IHS Political Science Series
Pages:34
Month:September
Year:2003
Subjects:EU policies and themes > Policies & related activities > political affairs > democracy/democratic deficit
EU policies and themes > Policies & related activities > political affairs > legitimacy
Keywords:Discourse; EU member-states; regional state.
ID Code:882
Deposited By:Torggler, Elisabet
Deposited On:03 November 2003