The European Union: How Democratic Is It?

This is a review of democracy in the European Union. It deals with the two major challenges of interest articulation in the EU, political parties and lobbying; discusses how democracy becomes the key element in the linkage between the EU and its member states - using France, Italy and Belgium as examples; focuses on democratic aspects of key EU institutions - the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament; and it looks at democracy in relation to possible EU development generally, and in the context of societal change which may tend to undermine the role of parliamentary institutions.

Table of Contents:
Introduction - Svein S Andersen and Kjell A Eliassen Dilemmas, Contradictions and the Future of European Democracy PART ONE: NUMERICAL DEMOCRACY, CORPORATIVE PLURALISM AND LOBBYING IN EUROPEAN POLITICS Euro-Parties and European Parties - Mogens N Pedersen New Arenas, New Challenges and New Strategies EU-Lobbying - Svein S Andersen and Kjell A Eliassen Between Representativity and Effectiveness The Modern West European State and the European Union - Wolgang Wessels Democratic Erosion or a New Kind of Polity? PART TWO: EU POLICY-MAKING AND NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS The French EU Decision-Making - Christian Lequesne Between Destablization and Adaptation European Policy-Making and National Institutions - The Case of Belgium - Cecilia Andersen Italy - Federiga Maria Bindi In Need of More EU Democracy PART THREE: EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS: LEGITIMACY AND DEMOCRACY The Role of the Commission - Finn Laursen The Role of the Council - Fiona Hayes-Renshaw Voting Power under the EU Constitution - Jan E Lane, Reinert Moeland and Sven Berg The European Parliament - Juliet Lodge PART FOUR: THE FUTURE OF EU DEMOCRACY The European Union - Rolf Gustavsson 1996 and beyond a Personal View from the Side-Line The European Union and the Erosion of Parliamentary Democracy - Svein S Andersen and Tom Burns A Study of Post-Parliamentary Governance Democracy - Svein S Andersen and Kjell A Eliassen Traditional Concerns in New Institutional Settings

About the Author :
Svein Andersen is a professor at the Norwegian School of Management and has held various academic positions over the last 25 years, including as a visiting professor at Berkeley and adjunct professor at the University of Oslo. He is also an adjunct professor at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. His teaching experience includes executive leadership and sports management. He holds two PhDs, one from the University of Oslo and one from Stanford University. Kjell A Eliassen is Professor and Director of European and Asian Studies (CEAS) at the Norwegian School of Management. CONTRIBUTORS Esther Barbe Universitat Autonoma Barcelona Yves Boyer CREST Paris Michael Clark King's College University of London Catriona Gourlay Universite Libre Bruxelles Esben Oust Heiberg Norwegian School of Management Eric Remacle Universite Libre Bruxelles Marit Sjovaag Norwegian School of Management Reimund Seidelmann Universitat Giessen and Universite Libre Bruxelles Arnhild Spence NATO and EC Bruxelles David Spence NATO and EC Bruxelles G Pinar Tank Norwegian School of Management Pierre de Vestel Universite Libre Bruxelles

Review :
`This collection of essays.... includes several useful chapters: Andersen and Burns′ thoughtful essay on `post-parliamentary governance′, Pedersen′s treatment of Euro-cooperation between parties, Wessel′s portrayal of the EU as `a new kind of polity′, and excellent analyses by Laursen and Hayes-Renshaw of the Commission and Council (respectively). Lane et al. offer a particularly interesting examination of the obsolescence of majority voting in a future, much-enlarged EU′ - Political Studies `This is a timely title. The well-worn clich[ac]e - a sort of twisted verison of a Groucho Marx witticism- has it that, were the EU to apply to join itself, it would not get in. The implicit assumption, one with which most Europeans would presumably agree, is that the EU should be democratic.... the book is a welcome and thought-provoking addition to a growing literature′ - Journal of Legislative Studies