Deliberative Democracy in the EU: Countering Populism with Participation and Debate

Representative democracy remains the best available form of government - and the one preferred by most EU citizens, but satisfaction with how it plays out varies greatly across the continent. Among the perceived weaknesses are high levels of political corruption, low resilience to disinformation, and out-of-touch governing elites. Yet there is some hope that direct channels for citizens to express their concerns and preferences, fact-based deliberation in representative bodies and robust mechanisms to hold governments to account can help save European democracy from the onslaught of populism. This volume draws together proposals into a framework reflecting the four cumulative criteria used by modern political theorists to assess the health of a democracy: inclusion, choice, deliberation and impact. Its expert contributors offer pragmatic ideas to strengthen representative democracy at both the national and EU level.

Binding Type: Paperback
Author: Blockmans, Steven
Published: 11/25/2020
Publisher: Centre for European Policy Studies
ISBN: 9781538145807
Pages: 216
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 1.00d