Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 10/2011

Democracy in Europe: Politicizing Champions for the European Public Sphere

Matteo Garavoglia

June 2011

Istituto Affari Internazionali

Abstract

The democratic deficit in the relationship between European institutions and citizens stems from the lack of a pan-European public sphere where supranational policy-making and national politics can be reconciled. One of the key reasons for the absence of a pan-European public sphere is the extremely limited politicization of European policy-making in the eyes of European citizens in a context whereby Europe is perceived as an entity of “policy without politics”. The aim of this paper is to highlight how a politicization of the European policy-making process through a dialectical engagement of progressive and liberal forces with conservative and nationalistic ones can contribute to the development of a pan-European public sphere.