Democracy and legitimacy in the European Union revisited: input, output and throughput

Arbeitspapier | Working paper

Whether their analytic frameworks focus on institutional form and practices or on its interactive construction, scholars have analyzed the EU’s democratic legitimacy mainly in terms of the trade-offs between the output effectiveness of EU’s policies outcomes for the people and the input participation by and representation of the people. Missing is theorization of the “throughput” efficiency, accountability, transparency, and openness to consultation with the people of the EU’s internal governance processes. The paper argues that adding this analytic category facilitates assessment of these legitimizing mechanisms’ interdependencies and facilitates consideration of reforms that could turn this democratic trilemma into a “virtuous circle”.

Object Details

• ISSN: 1868-7601
• Extent: Seite(n): 32
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Status: Veröffentlichungsversion; begutachtet (peer reviewed)

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: KFG Working Paper Series (21)

Classification and Topics

• Subject: Politikwissenschaft ; Europapolitik ; politische Willensbildung, politische Soziologie, politische Kultur ; EU ; Demokratie ; Legitimität ; EU-Politik ; Entscheidungsprozess ; Transnationalität ; Transparenz ; politische Partizipation ; Governance ; Identitätsbildung

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Schmidt, Vivien
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Deutschland, Berlin
• (when): 2011

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-371014
• Rights: GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften. Bibliothek Köln
• Last update: 21.06.2024, 4:27 PM CEST