Democratic norms, actor perceptions and EU budgetary questions

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies

This workshop will recast the question of normative spaces and conflict for the case of fiscal politics from an interdisciplinary perspective.

In recent years, budgets and democratic representation have been at the heart of debates surrounding democratic legitimacy in the EU. Budgets lie at the core of democratic polities, as they fundamentally crystallise practices of ‘good democratic governance’, public representation, popular sovereignty, and the objectives of democratic policymaking. They embody the transformation of the interests and social demands present in society through the political system.

The literature typically assumes that the specific shape of EU governance since the Eurozone crisis has given rise to new and sharp legitimacy conflicts, particularly as some fear that technocratic governance is becoming more significant than parliamentary participation. But what about the actors themselves and their perceptions of these conflicts? Could conflicts, in terms of belief systems, be nested elsewhere?

This workshop is upon invitation only. If you would like to attend please send a message to the administrative contact listed below.