Political Theory and the European Union: Legitimacy, Constitutional Choice and Citizenship (Routledge Ecpr Studies in European Political Science, 3)

The contributors to this book examine the issues of constitutional choice that face the governments and citizens of today's Europe. Divided into three sections this study addresses: questions of political legitimacy and the meaning of democratic deficit in the EU; the reality of what institutional reforms and decision making processes are possible; and the rights of citizenship and values that should be protected. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Contributors......Page 8 Series editor’s preface......Page 11 Abbreviations......Page 14 1 Introduction......Page 16 Political legitimacy and the democratic deficit......Page 18 Decision rules and the constitutional construction of the EU......Page 20 Citizenship and constitutional choice......Page 21 Constitutional choice after Amsterdam......Page 22 Conclusion......Page 25 Reference......Page 26 Introduction: legitimacy and the European Union......Page 30 Identity: who are the people?......Page 34 Authorisation, representativeness and accountability......Page 39 Performance......Page 42 Conclusion......Page 46 References......Page 47 Introduction: the double duty of ‘democracy’......Page 50 A contractualist account of legitimacy......Page 52 Justifying majority rule......Page 54 Against majority rule?......Page 57 Conclusion: the ends of Europe......Page 60 References......Page 62 Introduction......Page 66 A theory of democratic institutions......Page 67 Two traditions of democratic theory......Page 70 Institutional features of the European Union......Page 71 Competing conceptions of democracy......Page 73 Instead of a blueprint......Page 76 References......Page 77 5 Defending the democratic deficit......Page 80 The perpetuity clause......Page 81 Democratic accountability......Page 83 Provisional suprastatism......Page 86 Did the Court solve the problem?......Page 90 References......Page 94 Images of integration in the 1990s......Page 98 The new politics of co-determination......Page 100 From Gesellschaft to Gemeinschaft?......Page 101 Reforming the system......Page 102 Reflections on the institutional agenda......Page 104 Theorising reform......Page 106 ‘Stirred, not shaken...’......Page 108 Conclusion......Page 109 References......Page 110 Political integration, institutional reform and the crisis of legitimacy......Page 112 Normative foundations of European integration......Page 113 Legitimising European governance: beyond majoritarian democracy......Page 116 Multiple accountability of the European Commission......Page 120 Conclusion: squaring the triangle?......Page 123 References......Page 124 The problem......Page 126 Upgrading the Parliament......Page 127 A contractarian approach......Page 128 Territorial and sectoral representation......Page 130 A system of veto rights......Page 131 The problem of decision-making efficiency......Page 134 Open questions......Page 135 Notes......Page 136 References......Page 137 Introduction......Page 140 Opportunity structures for citizens’ participation......Page 141 Petitions to the European Parliament......Page 142 Addressing the Ombudsperson......Page 143 Green and White Papers......Page 144 Being active in small interest groups......Page 145 Proceedings before the ECJ......Page 146 The political opportunity structure of the European Union......Page 147 Citizens’ involvement in EU politics: status quo and innovative proposals......Page 148 References......Page 152 Introduction......Page 158 The need for a constitution......Page 160 Broadening the concept of democracy......Page 161 Citizenship: what and for whom?......Page 162 Economic integration, the democratic deficit and the role of regions......Page 164 Objections......Page 167 Conclusion......Page 168 References......Page 169 11 European Union citizenship as a model of citizenship beyond the nation state......Page 172 The radical potential of EU citizenship......Page 173 The sadness of the potential? The EU and the citizen after Amsterdam......Page 177 References......Page 183 The political subject of democracy in normative and empirical dimensions......Page 186 European Union democracy......Page 189 EU citizenship as the institutional foundation of a European public sphere: possible developments......Page 193 Citizenship in the Amsterdam Treaty......Page 196 Concluding remarks......Page 197 References......Page 198 Preliminaries......Page 202 Liberal democracy, European and universal......Page 204 Environmental ethics and policies......Page 207 The compatibility of liberty and nature......Page 208 Conclusion: European CDM on environmental issues......Page 212 References......Page 214 Index......Page 216 The question of the legitimacy or rightfulness of political authority is of central concern to both normative political philosophy and explanatory political science, yet a satisfactory definition of the concept remains elusive, and the connection between the respective concerns of political philosophy and political science is obscure. This work examines the issues of constitutional choice that face the governments and citizens of late-1990s Europe. It discusses the meaning of democratic deficit in the EU and the rights of citizenship that should be enshrined and protected This book examines the issues of constitutional choice that face the governments and citizens of today's Europe. It discusses the meaning of democratic deficit in the EU and the rights of citizenship that should be protected