Efficient and Democratic European Governance: Dynamics and Obstacles

The section aims to bring together ongoing theory-guided empirical research in the field of European governance. Some of the questions we would like to address are the following. Why do political actors choose different governance arrangements for different policy fields? How do we explain this variation in institutional design? What are the consequences of specific governance arrangements for different political actors? How do changes in governance arrangements affect legitimacy? Does institutional design help states overcome problems of intergovernmental cooperation efficiently? How is legitimacy construed by political actors, and to whom are decision-makers accountable in a multi-level system? What normative reflections govern the drive for civil society involvement and how can the democratic value added to EU governance be measured? Does administrative support to Euro-level interest groups result in the formation of a European wide political space? We especially invite contributions on differences in governance arrangements across policy fields as well as those that explore the tension between efficiency and democratic accountability in European policy formation. We hope to further discussion comparing different institutional forms of governance and their impact on performance and legitimacy and we encourage paper givers to critically reflect strategies of political participation. The section will be able to draw on but wants to expand - two existing European networks of researchers: (1) the EU Research and Training Network Dynamics and Obstacles of European Governance, and (2) the EU Network of Excellence Efficient and Democratic Governance in a Multi-level Europe (CONNEX).