Publications

Do All Bridges Collapse? Possibilities for Democracy in the European Union
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by Culpepper, Pepper; Fung, Archon
It is tempting, but wrong, to infer from the failures of the EU draft constitution that all reforms based on increasing citizen participation in the European Union are doomed to fail. Andrew Moravcsik’s trenchant dismissal of the constitutional project commits this error. Moravcsik’s sweeping claims, based on what he calls empirical social science, speak well beyond the evidence on democratic institutional innovations. Participatory measures such as consultative Citizens’ Assemblies may articulate a citizens’ perspective that can help to anchor the democratic legitimacy of the EU. We do not know if such innovations can resolve the problems of the democratic deficit, but we do know that empirical social science has not spoken decisively on the issue. It is worth examining their democratic potential rather than dismissing them outright.
Publication Type: Published Paper
Published Date: December 2007
Field of Interest: Comparative Politics
Culpepper, Pepper D., and Archon Fung. "Do all Bridges Collapse? Possibilities for Democracy in the European Union." Politische Vierteljahresschrift 48, no .4 (December 2007): 730-739.