Missing Links? Assessing the Accountability of Civil Society Organisations in EU Governance

Representative democracy requires that citizens not only voice their concerns directly, but also rely on intermediary organizations such as civil society organizations (CSOs) to aggregate and communicate their interests and demands into policy inputs for political elites. These CSOs are therefore often perceived as vehicles that can enhance the legitimacy of public institutions, in particular those situated at the supranational level, such as the EU. However, previous research has questioned the potential of these organizations to actually enhance democratic representation at the EU level. In this paper we contribute to this debate by examining the accountability of CSOs vis-à-vis their members. We first discuss the significance of CSO accountability in representative systems and subsequently develop an analytical framework specifically tailored to civil society organizations. Drawing on new primary and bespoke data from a large-scale survey of groups active at the EU level, we consider the organizational processes and structures they have in place to connect their constituencies, focusing on the dimensions of information, discussion and consequences. Our research also addresses CSO professionalization and the consequences of government patronage.