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The Case for Demoicracy in the European Union *
Author(s) -
Cheneval Francis,
Schimmelfennig Frank
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5965.2012.02262.x
Subject(s) - polity , democratic deficit , european union , democracy , political science , core (optical fiber) , political economy , sociology , law , international trade , economics , politics , computer science , telecommunications
The debate on the European Union's democratic deficit usually operates within a national‐democratic framework of analysis. This article argues for a change in methodology. It follows the thesis that the EU is a ‘demoicracy’– a polity of multiple demoi – and has to be evaluated as such. Core principles of demoicracy are developed and the EU is assessed accordingly. Such an evaluation is not only more adequate, but also provides original insights: it is found that, whereas the constitutional development of the EU has approached demoicratic standards in general, major deficits remain at the national level.