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Stefano Bartolini
Mass Politics in Brussels: How Benign Could It Be?
This contribution discusses a new variant of the “democratic deficit” debate: the idea that this deficit can and should be overcome through a gradual “politicisation” of the EU internal processes without major institutional reforms. This line of argument thus shifts the attention from EU policies and institutions to its politics. The politicisation thesis presents many potential advantages that would derive from its implementation, but does not explore sufficiently the risks of this project and its unexpected and unwanted outcomes. In the following analysis, the focus is on the latter, discussing if the politicisation of the EU is compatible with its institutional structure. The conclusion is that the risks of politicisation projects are highly underestimated, that considerable uncertainties surround its key factual underpinning and its main developmental expectations, and that it may raise expectations that cannot be fulfilled and generate tensions that cannot be handled by the EU.
Zeitschrift für Staats- und Europawissenschaften, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 1610-7780
Volume: 4, 04/2006
Pages: 28 - 56