The Europolity's Democratic Odyssey

• Department of Economics
• Department of History
• Department of Law
• Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies
• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• Department of Political and Social Sciences
• Florence School of Transnational Governance
• Central Coordination Unit
• Democracy in the 21st Century

This roundtable features EUI Emeritus Professor Philippe Schmitter, author of the Europolitan Papers, with EUI-STG Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis, leader of the Democratic Odyssey Project, and other cluster participants in a debate on the democratic future of the European Union.

The Europolitan Papers, as well as the Research Cluster Transnational Democracy in the 21st Century, share the beliefs that for quite some time, democracy in Europe is under distress, and that it needs to be reconfigured if the Europolity is to cope with future challenges in sustainable, functionally effective modes. Which democratic innovations for the EU are necessary, and to what extent and how they should be co-crafted with and by the European citizens, are issues for interdisciplinary debate. Visions and political outlooks differ, depending on European integration, democracy and legal - political theoretical stances. 

This roundtable - the third edition of the Europolity Project initiated by Philippe Schmitter, under the aegis of the EUI-STG and the EGPP/RCSAS – aims to bridge theoretical, disciplinary and political divisions by stimulating a conversation between a (self-acclaimed) 'hard core advocate of neo-functionalism' (Philippe Schmitter), the proponents of a 'Democratic Odyssey' guided by a crowdsourcing compass that aims at a citizen and civil society centred transnational democracy, and legal theorists. 

Three papers from the 'Democratic Odyssey Project' will be provided upon a completed registration.