Multi-Level Governance and Democratic Representation: Does one Preclude the Other?

Abstract

In the literature on multi-level governance in the EU, the issues of deliberation, participation and accountability are on the agenda while the question of representation at best just begins to be perceived. It can be assumed that the reasons for the absence of a discourse on representation are both political and theoretical. Politically, it would raise difficult questions with regard to the democratic legitimacy of the EU; theoretically, the governance literature has tended to neglect insights of democratic theory. Be that as it may, the panel here proposed perceives of democratic representation as a sine qua non of any political system that should be called democratic. Indeed, this is a difficult endeavor as we move beyond the well-established context of democratic theories and practices which were firmly embedded in the nation state. The EU is neither a state nor a nation and, consequently, we cannot expect representation to take the same form as in nation states. However, there also is no reason to not be normatively demanding with regard to the conceptualization of representation. This panel is thus interested in contributions that address, either theoretically or empirically, how democratic representation can be thought of and implemented in the multi-level structure of the EU and how the EU conditions the way representation is framed. It thereby contributes to the emergence of a novel, highly relevant research area. Contributions may deal with more traditional or more recent political actors, they may stem from different disciplines and use different methodologies. It is planned that suitable contributions will be published as a special issue by an internationally recognized press.

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