Collective Will-Formation Across Borders

Abstract

The theme of this panel is motivated by the challenge to democratize the political interdependencies in an ever more internationalizing world. One strategy to incorporate such interdependencies is to establish over-arching international institutions. In practice, however, the democratic potential of such institutions taken by themselves is limited given that we do not see the emergence of a corresponding international public sphere. For that reason, this panel rather focuses on the way the external, international effects of political decision-making can and should be incorporated in the national democratic process. The main institutions here are national parliaments and forms of direct democracy: what can and should be expect in terms of the international awareness and accountability of these institutions (parliaments and referendums) to the extent that the decisions they take affect ‘foreign’ interests? What are the appropriate standards in this regard? What means can we think of to facilitate such awareness and accountability? And to what extent can we identify such awareness and accountability already in existing practices? The panel aims for papers that are grounded in theoretical understandings of collective will formation (from Rousseau to Habermas) but that at the same time engage with actual developments in the practices of parliaments and referendums.