Page 31 - Aequitas Europa

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O
ver the course of history we have experienced complete failures and near perfect
successes regarding political systems. It is believed that Winston Churchill have said

“democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have
been tried”. Across the approximately thirty-six existing models of democracy observed under
temporal and geopolitical settings, the European Union has managed to create a ‘sui generis’
model of democracy.

Democracy

The problem derives from the fact that several inquiries For the purposes of this paper we define democracy as
into the subject, left the public undecided in regards to descending from the Greek word demokratia formed by
how democratic the EU really is. Mainly, because the the word demos which means “people” and kratos
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issue has been studied and researched from a variety of meaning, “rule” or “power” . Nowadays, it is believed
perspectives and scientific studies. In the process, that democracy is an intransient given. The overall
creating the term ‘democratic deficit’, to justify their consensus is that democracy represents a pool of
inquisitiveness into something novel that formed under undeniable and unrestricted rights all gathered under the
the careful planning and supervision of state leaders umbrella of a democratic political system. According to
belonging to ones of the most successful democratic Robert A. Dahl , the fundamental democratic principle
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regimes in the world. Law, political science, international for an entirely and absolutely liberal democracy is, “the
relations, economics and sociology have contributed to right to vote, the right to be elected for public office, the
the scientific study of the democratic EU. Each academic right of political leaders to compete for support and
investigates a different part and therefore they all come votes, free and fair elections, freedom of association,
to different conclusions 110 . What commentators should freedom of expression, alternative sources of
understand is that instead on engaging in a debate information, institutions that make government policies
concerning the validity of paradigms, focusing on what is actually depend on votes and other forms of (voter)
done in the EU in terms of democracy and analyzing preferences 113 ”. In addition, Basu 114 emphasizes that:
which reform exemplify which theories are more “Democracy entails many things, the variety of political
productive and beneficial for the future of the Union, they and legislative institutions, avenues for citizens to
should acknowledge the bases on which the EU has been participate in the formation of economic policies that
created. The EU highlights its own agenda as the affects their lives and, in the ultimate analysis, a certain
protection and promotion of democracy rather than the mind-set. Yet at the core of it and in its simplest form,
global democratic deficit. As a matter of fact, a democracy requires that (1) people should have the right
democratic political system is a requirement for to choose those who rule them and (2) the principle that
prospective Member States to join the EU. This article is the vote of each person should count as much as another
trying to understand the main reasons, which lead to a person. Even if this simple principle runs into paradoxes
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multitude of complex interpretations and the two and puzzles ”.
dimensions that raised questions, the ‘institutional’ and In as much as we are keen in interpreting democratic
‘socio-psychological’ context. standards to a society and to make the political claims and
institutions emerge are not easy and smooth processes
especially when the European Union is not a classical

110 Kirchner, Emil J. (2009), “Thirty years of the Journal of European 113 Lijphart, Arend, Paterns of Democracy: Government Forms and
Integration: Reflections and Outlook on Integration Studies”, Journal of Performance in Thirty-Six Countries (Yale University Press 2012) 46-47
European Integration, 31, No. 2, Winter: 159 114 Basu, Kaushik (2001), “The Retreat of Global Democracy”, 1
111 Sartori, Giovanni, The Theory of Democracy Revisited (Chatham House 115 Singh, Jaivir, Regulations, Institutions and the Law (Berghahn Books 2007)
Publishers 1987) 278 53
112 Dahl, Robert, Polyarchy: participation and opposition (Yale University Press
1971)