Challenging the future: the democratic deficit of the EU from a federalist perspective

Abstract

Over the decades the European Union (EU) has evolved into a "quasi-state" of roughly 500 million citizens with 28 members. This process has also brought about the so-called 'democratic deficit' arguments arising from the (un)democratic characteristics of the EU institutions (institutional dimension) and lack of a European demos (socio-psychological dimension). Political systems need peoples' recognition, acceptance and understanding of the system and the rulers in order to preserve their existence. Hence, as a political system, as long as the EU does not make necessary reforms in terms of democracy, democratic deficit will be a challenge to the future of the EU. In this context the paper will aim to present answers to both institutional and socio-psychological dimensions of democratic deficit from a federalist perspective. (original abstract)