Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Democratic Dilemmas of Multilevel Governance pp 17–37Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Multilevel Legitimacy: Conceptualizing Legitimacy Relationships between the EU and National Democracies

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Transformations of the State ((TRST))

Abstract

According to most observers, political globalization — the shift of many of the nation state’s traditional competences to international or supranational regimes or organizations — creates problems of democratic legitimacy for both national and international governance. At the national level, democratic processes are undermined by the growing interdependence of national and international institutions, which results in shrinking capacities of national demoi to exercise full control over political developments affecting their members. At the international or supranational levels, mechanisms of democratic participation and collective self-government are fragmentary compared to the nation state. This deficit cannot be easily remedied as many of the social conditions on which national democracies rely are not met in extrānational contexts. As the nation state’s autonomy dwindles and international or supranational institutions are found wanting in democratic quality, the democratic form of government as a whole seems to be in danger, as the citizens, in R. Dahl’s words, ‘participate extensively in political decisions that do not matter much but cannot participate much in decisions that really matter a great deal’.1

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Notes

  1. R. A. Dahl, ‘A Democratic Dilemma: System Effectiveness versus Citizen Participation’, Political Science Quarterly, 109 (1994) pp. 23–34).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. M. Albrow, The Global Age: State and Society beyond Modernity (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1996)

    Google Scholar 

  3. T. R. Burns, ‘The Evolution of Parliaments and Societies in Europe: Challenges and Prospects’, European Journal of Social Theory, 2 (1999) pp. 167–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. E W. Scharpf, ‘Interdependence and Democratic Legitimation’, in S.J. Pharr and R. D. Putnam (eds), Disaffected Democracies: What’s Troubling the Trilateral Countries? (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), pp. 101–20.

    Google Scholar 

  5. M. Zürn, ‘Global Governance and Legitimacy Problems’, in D. Held and M. Koenig-Archibugi (eds). Global Governance and Public Accountability (Oxford: Blackwell, 2005), p. 152.

    Google Scholar 

  6. G. Martinotti and S. Stefanizzi, ‘Europeans and the Nation State’, in O. Niedermayer and R. Sinnott (eds), Public Opinion and Internationalized Governance (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 163–89.

    Google Scholar 

  7. For an example, see J. Laughland, The Tainted Source: the Undemocratic Origins of the European Idea (London: Warner, 1998), pp. 6–7.

    Google Scholar 

  8. For example, F. W. Scharpf argues that ‘European democracies discredit themselves when, for an ever growing number of urgent problems, national political leaders admit their importance by calling for “European solutions”, while in Brussels interminable negotiations will, at best, lead to compromises that are declared unsatisfactory by all concerned’. See F. W. Scharpf, ‘Community and Autonomy: Multi-Level Policy-Making in the European Union’, Journal of European Public Policy, 1 (1994) p. 220.

    Google Scholar 

  9. K. van Kersbergen, ‘Political Allegiance and European Integration’, European Journal of Political Research, 37 (2000) pp. 9–10).

    Google Scholar 

  10. R. Inglehart, ‘Long Term Trends in Mass Support for European Integration’, Government & Opposition, 12 (1977) pp. 150–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. R. Inglehart and K. Reif, ‘Analyzing Trends in West European Opinion: the Role of the Eurobarometer Surveys’, in R. Inglehart and K. Reif (eds), Eurobarometer: the Dynamics of European Public Opinion (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991), pp. 1–26.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. C. J. Anderson and M. S. Reichert, ‘Economic Benefits and Support for Membership in the E.U.: a Cross-National Analysis’, Journal of Public Policy, 15 (1995) pp. 231–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. R. C. Eichenberg and R. Dalton, ‘Europeans and the European Community: the Dynamics of Public Support for European Integration’, International Organization, 47 (1993) pp. 507–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. M. Gabel, ‘Public Support for European Integration: an Empirical Test of Five Theories’, Journal of Politics, 60 (1998) pp. 333–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. M. Gabel and H. D. Palmer, ‘Understanding Variation in Public Support for European Integration’, European Journal of Political Research, 27 (1995) pp. 3–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. L. Hooghe and G. Marks, ‘Calculation, Community and Cues: Public Opinion on European Integration’, European Union Politics, 6 (2005) pp. 422–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. G. Marks and L. Hooghe, ‘National Identity and Support for European Integration’, WZB Discussion Paper No. SP IV 2003–202 (Berlin: Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, 2003), pp. 8–12.

    Google Scholar 

  18. S. Kritzinger, ‘The Influence of the Nation-State on Individual Support for the European Union’, European Union Politics, 4 (2003) pp. 219–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. R. Rohrschneider, ‘The Democracy Deficit and Mass Support for an EU-wide Government’, American Journal of Political Science, 46 (2002) pp. 463–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. I. Sánchez-Cuenca, ‘The Political Basis of Support for European Integration’, European Union Politics, 1 (2000) pp. 147–71).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. C. J. Anderson, ‘When in Doubt, Use Proxies: Attitudes toward Domestic Politics and Support for European Integration’, Comparative Political Studies, 31 (1998) pp. 569–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. J. Citrin and J. Sides, ‘More than Nationals: How Identity Choice Matters in the New Europe’, in R. K. Herrmann, T. Risse and M. B. Brewer (eds). Transnational Identities: Becoming European in the EU (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004), pp. 161–85

    Google Scholar 

  23. S. Duchesne and A. Frognier, ‘Is There a European Identity?’, in O. Niedermayer and R. Sinnott (eds), Public Opinion and Internationalized Governance (Oxford: Oxford University Press 1995), pp. 193–226

    Google Scholar 

  24. G. Marks, ‘Territorial Identities in the European Union’, in J. J. Anderson (ed). Regional Integration and Democracy: Expanding on the European Experience (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999), pp. 69–91.

    Google Scholar 

  25. M. Marcussen et al., ‘Constructing Europe? The Evolution of French, British and German Nation State Identities’, Journal of European Public Policy, 6 (1999) pp. 614–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. T. Risse, ‘A European Identity? Europeanization and the Evolution of Nation-State Identities’, in M. Green Cowles, J. Caporaso and T. Risse (eds). Transforming Europe: Europeanization and Domestic Change (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001), pp. 198–216.

    Google Scholar 

  27. M. Cinnirella, ‘Towards a European Identity? Interactions between the National and European Social Identities Manifested by University Students in Britain and Italy’, British Journal of Social Psychology, 36 (1997) pp. 19–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. P. P. Mlicki and N. Ellemers, ‘Being Different or Being Better? National Stereotypes and Identifications of Polish and Dutch Students’, European Journal of Social Psychology, 26 (1996) pp. 97–114).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Studies of empirical legitimation processes at the nation state level show that the legitimacy of core nation state institutions is remarkably stable. One factor that might account for this finding is that these institutions have a decisive influence on national political cultures, and thus to some extent shape the very legitimation standards by which they are evaluated in public discourse. See A. Hurrelmann et al., ‘Mapping Legitimacy Discourses in Democratic Nation States: Great Britain, Switzerland, and the United States Compared’, TranState Working Paper No. 24/2005 (Bremen: TranState Research Centre, 2005), pp. 11–16.

    Google Scholar 

  30. D. Beetham and C. Lord, Legitimacy and the European Union (London: Longman, 1998), pp. 75–6.

    Google Scholar 

  31. F. W. Scharpf, Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  32. G. Majone, ‘The European Community: an “Independent Fourth Branch of Government”?’, in G. Brüggemeier (ed.), Verfassungen für ein ziviles Europa (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1994), pp. 23–43

    Google Scholar 

  33. G. Majone, ‘Europe’s “Democratic Deficit”: the Question of Standards’, European Law Journal, 4 (1998) pp. 5–28).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. An example of the output-oriented version of the intergovernmental argument can be found in A. S. Milward’s portrayal of Europe as ‘rescuer’ of the nation state, which is based on the ability of the EU to increase the efficiency of nation state policies. See A. S. Milward, The European Rescue of the Nation-State (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Beetham and Lord, Legitimacy, p. 61; M. Höreth, ‘No Way out for the Beast? The Unresolved Legitimacy Problem of European Governance’, Journal of European Public Policy, 6 (1999) pp. 249–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. A. Moravcsik, ‘In Defence of the “Democratic Deficit”: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (2002) pp. 603–24).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. F. W. Scharpf, ‘Was man von einer europäischen Verfassung erwarten und nicht erwarten sollte [What to Expect and What Not to Expect of a European Constitution]’, Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik, 48 (2003) p. 49 (translation by author).

    Google Scholar 

  38. For a more detailed analysis of the models of European constitutionalism advanced in the constitutional debate, see A. Hurrelmann, ‘Constitutional Democracy and Social Integration: Models of Constitutionalism in the EU Reform Debate’, in W. Loth (ed.), La Gouvernance Supranationale dans la Construction Européenne [Supranational Governance in the European Construction] (Brussels: Bruylant, 2005), pp. 309–38

    Google Scholar 

  39. A. Hurrelmann, Verfassung und Integration in Europa: Wege zu einer supranationalen Demokratie [Constitution and Integration in Europe: Pathways towards Supranational Democracy] (Frankfurt: Campus, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  40. B. Kohler-Koch, ‘A Constitution for Europe?’, MZES Working Paper No. 8 (Mannheim: Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung, 1999), p. 2.

    Google Scholar 

  41. W. Wessels, ‘Der Verfassungsvertrag im Integrationstrend: eine Zusammenschau zentraler Ergebnisse [The Constitutional Treaty in the Integration Trend: a Synopsis of Core Results]’, Integration, 26 (2003) p. 298 (translation by author).

    Google Scholar 

  42. Commission of the European Communities, European Governance: a White Paper, Document COM (2001) 428 final (Brussels, European Commission, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  43. B. Gbikpi and J. R. Grote, ‘From Democratic Government to Participatory Governance’, in B. Gbikpi and J. R. Grote (eds) Participatory Governance: Political and Societal Implications (Opladen: Leske + Budrich, 2002), pp. 17–34.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  44. H. Abromeit, Democracy in Europe: Legitimising Politics in a Non-State Polity (Oxford: Berghahn, 1998).

    Google Scholar 

  45. A. Follesdal and S. Hix, ‘Why There is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: a Response to Majone and Moravcsik’, European Governance Paper (EURO-GOV) No. C-05-02 (Mannheim: Connex and NewGov Projects, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  46. As proposed in M. Zürn, ‘Democratic Governance beyond the Nation-State: the EU and Other International Institutions’, European Journal of International Relations, 6 (2000) pp. 183–221).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. For proposals in this vein, see A. Maurer, ‘Optionen und Grenzen der Einbindung der nationalen Parlamente in die künftige EU-Verfassungsstruktur [Including National Parliaments into the Future Constitutional Structure of the EU: Options and Restrictions]’, SWP-Studie No. S 29 (Berlin: Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, 2002).

    Google Scholar 

  48. M. Wind, ‘The European Union as a Polycentric Polity: Returning to a Neo-Medieval Europe?’, in J. H. H. Weiler and M. Wind (eds), European Constitutionalism beyond the State (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 103–31.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Achim Hurrelmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Carleton University, Canada

    Joan DeBardeleben (Director of the Centre for European Studies and Professor in the Institute of European and Russian Studies) & Achim Hurrelmann (Assistant Professor of Political Science) (Director of the Centre for European Studies and Professor in the Institute of European and Russian Studies) &  (Assistant Professor of Political Science)

Copyright information

© 2007 Achim Hurrelmann

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hurrelmann, A. (2007). Multilevel Legitimacy: Conceptualizing Legitimacy Relationships between the EU and National Democracies. In: DeBardeleben, J., Hurrelmann, A. (eds) Democratic Dilemmas of Multilevel Governance. Transformations of the State. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230591783_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation