Political Representation and Legitimacy in the European UnionHermann Schmitt, Jacques Thomassen OUP Oxford, 10/06/1999 - 324 páginas How severe a problem is what many call the 'democratic deficit' of the European Union? Despite a voluminous theoretical literature dealing with this question, there is hardly any systematic empirical investigation of the effectiveness of the system of political representation in the EU and of the legitimacy beliefs of EU citizens that spring from it. This volume elaborates a conceptual framework for the empirical analysis of the alleged democratic deficit. Four dimensions of legitimacy beliefs are identified and analysed: the European political community, the scope of EU government, the institutions and processes of EU government, and EU policies. Based upon large-scale representative surveys among the mass publics, and different strata of the political elite of the EU and its member-states, the book examines the conditions of political representation in the EU. The results demonstrate, by and large, that legitimacy beliefs of EU citizens are the more positive, the less specific the object of identification and evaluations is; and that the process of political representation works pretty well as long as issues other than European Union issues are concerned. These findings are finally discussed in view of familiar strategies for institutional reform of the European Union. |
Índice
Legitimacy | 23 |
Representation | 109 |
Conclusion | 253 |
The European Representation Study | 269 |
References | 275 |
| 297 | |
Outras edições - Ver tudo
Political Representation and Legitimacy in the European Union Hermann Schmitt,J. J. A. Thomassen Pré-visualização limitada - 1999 |
Political Representation and Legitimacy in the European Union Hermann Schmitt,J. J. A. Thomassen Pré-visualização limitada - 1999 |
Palavras e frases frequentes
1989 European Elections analyses attitudes average candidates cent chapter cohesive congruence constituency corporatism countries decision-making democratic Denmark economic effect Eijk electoral employment Euro Eurobarometer Europe European citizens European Election Study European integration European level European Parliament European Parliament elections European party European political European Representation Study European Union explained extent focus of representation Forza Italia Franklin Germany Greece hypothesis important independent variables indicate institutions Ireland Italy legitimacy level of government Luxembourg Maastricht Treaty major measured member-countries member-states membership MEPs national parliaments national parties Netherlands Niedermayer opinions party choice party groups party positions party preferences party system party voters pean perceived perceptual agreement policy preferences policy satisfaction political community political parties political representation political system Portugal problems question regime representative democracy Responsible Party Model role orientations Schmitt social Spain specific Subsidiarity survey Sweden system of political Table Thomassen tion tional valence issues vote Wallonia