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The European Union and the European States
Author(s) -
Dimitrova Antoaneta L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2010.02142.x
Subject(s) - european union , resizing , democratization , political science , european studies , economic history , member states , european integration , public administration , law , history , politics , democracy , international trade , business
Calling on wise men and women for advice has been a traditional remedy when the European Union (EU) has found itself in crisis. Th e current crisis, which follows the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in referenda in France and the Netherlands and the Treaty of Lisbon by an Irish referendum, certainly qualifi es for such a measure. On the evidence of her book Democracy in Europe: Th e EU and National Polities, the leaders of the EU could do worse than to consult Vivien A. Schmidt. Th e book deals with the important questions of the Union’s democratic defi cit and its legitimacy among its citizens. In contrast to many other contributions in this ongoing debate, however, Schmidt does not lay the blame on the EU’s institutional setup, but rather searches for the root of the Union’s democracy problem in the failure of the national polities to adapt to the evolving European public sphere.