The European Union has a democracy problem. The polycrisis that has plagued the EU for years has led to a cacophony of voices calling for fundamental change to the integration project. Yet despite the shock of the Brexit referendum and the electoral upsets caused by nativist parties across the continent, few of the plans for EU reform include concrete proposals to address the perennial democratic deficit. This volume looks at how the relationship between citizens, the state and EU institutions has changed in a multi-layered Union. As such, it focuses more on polity than on populism, and does not engage deeply with policy or output legitimacy. Building on the notion of increasing social, economic and political interdependence across borders, this book asks whether a sense of solidarity and European identity can be rescued from the bottom up by empowering citizens to 'take back control' of their Union. Direct Democracy in the EU: The Myth of a Citizens' Union is part of the 'Towards a Citizens' Union' project and is the product of collaboration with 20 renowned think tanks from the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN). It is the first of three publications that will also cover the state of representative democracy in the EU and the accountability of democratic institutions.

About the Author
Steven Blockmans is Senior Research Fellow and the Head of the Institutions and EU Foreign Policy units at CEPS; Professor of EU External Relations Law and Governance at the University of Amsterdam. Sophia Russack is Researcher in the Institutions unit at CEPS, PhD candidate at Maastricht University.


Book Information
ISBN 9781786613387
Author Steven Blockmans
Format Paperback
Page Count 386
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield International/Centre for European Policy Studies
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield International
Weight(grams) 535g
Dimensions(mm) 219mm * 152mm * 22mm