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Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies

Max Weber Book Roundtable with Prof. Vivien Schmidt (Boston University)

This volume examines the interrelationship between democratic legitimacy at the European level and the ongoing Eurozone crisis that began in 2010.

10 December 2020

Fellows at the EUI

This volume examines the interrelationship between democratic legitimacy at the European level and the ongoing Eurozone crisis that began in 2010.

Europe's crisis of legitimacy stems from 'governing by rules and ruling by numbers' in the sovereign debt crisis, which played havoc with the eurozone economy while fueling political discontent. Using the lens of democratic theory, the book assesses the legitimacy of EU governing activities first in terms of their procedural quality ('throughput'), by charting EU actors' different pathways to legitimacy, and then evaluates their policy effectiveness ('output') and political responsiveness ('input'). In addition to an engaging and distinctive analysis of Eurozone crisis governance and its impact on democratic legitimacy, the book offers a number of theoretical insights into the broader question of the functioning of the EU and supranational governance more generally.

It concludes with proposals for how to remedy the EU's problems of legitimacy, reinvigorate its national democracies, and rethink its future.

Moderator:

  • Dorothee Bohle (EUI), Max Weber Programme Director and Professor of Political Science (SPS Department)

Panellists:

  • Vivien Schmidt (Boston University), Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration; Professor of International Relations and Political Science
  • Paul Dermine (EUI), Max Weber Fellow, LAW Department
  • Sebastian Diessner (EUI), Max Weber Fellow, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
  • Brigid Laffan (EUI), Director and Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies

Last update: 10 December 2020

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