Political representation and legitimacy in the European Union

Author(s)

• Schmitt, Hermann
• Thomassen, Jacques

Bibliographic Information

Political representation and legitimacy in the European Union

edited by Hermann Schmitt and Jacques Thomassen

Oxford University Press, 1999

Note

Bibliography: p. [275]-296

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

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.

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction: Political Representation and Legitimacy in the European Union
• PART I: LEGITIMACY
• 2. A Political Community?
• 3. The Scope of EU Government
• 4. Support for the Political Regime
• 5. Policy Support
• PART II: PEPRESENTATION
• 6. Distinctiveness and Cohesion of Political Parties
• 7. The Cognitive Basis of Voting
• 8. Policy Representation and Party Choice
• 9. Issue Congruence
• 10. Whom to Represent? Role Orientation of Legislators in Europe
• 11. Wishful Thinking Among European Parliamentarians
• 12. In Conclusion: Political Representation and Legitimacy in the European Union

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA43942765
• ISBN:
  • 0198296614
• Country Code: uk
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Oxford
• Pages/Volumes: xiv, 306 p.
• Size: 23 cm
• Classification:
  • NDC9 : 333.7
  • DC21 : 321.8094
• Subject Headings:
  • BLSH : European Union
  • LCSH : Representative government and representation -- European Union countries
  • LCSH : European Union countries -- Politics and government -- Public opinion