European Governance.
A political science approach
CĂTĂLIN RAIU
PHD, POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political History
The Second World War =˃ welfare states (N. Bobbio)
The '70s – oil crisis
the '80s – Ronald Regan (USA) and Margaret Thatcher (UK) – the
neoliberal paradigm
1986 (European Single Act) + 1992 (Maastrict) – the
constitutionalization of the European communities
1995/ 1999/ 2002 – the Euro currency
2008 onwards – economic crisis
How does EU looks like? (1)
USA 1787
EU 2013
The democratic elements
(+representative mandate)
House of Representatives
(directly elected)
European Parliament
(directly elected)
The aristocratic element
(+imperative mandate)
Senate
Council of
(2 members for each state appointed for Ministers)
a 6 year term until 1913)
The monarchical element
(indirectly elected)
Federalism
President
Compound and competitive
European Commission + European
Council
Compound and consensual
Political Legitimacy
Double (the nation + the states)
Double (the citizens + the states)
Leadership
Fragmented, anti-monopoly
Anti-hierarchical
The dominant institution
American Congress (19th), President Council
Of
(20th – 21th)
Commission
European
European
Union
(of
Union…
How does EU looks like? (2)
USA 1787
EU 2013
Levels of decision-making
Federal state and federated states
EU, nation, region, local
The separation of powers
at the constitutional level
On the horizontal level and on the The separation of powers is not clearly
vertical level
stated
=˃ Multi-level governance
Political intention
Compound republic (J. Madison)
Compound polity
Major differences
The sovereign demos (”we, the people”)
The absence of the demos
Outcome
The centralization of powers in the hands ?
of the monarchical element
Political patterns
New Public Management
Neo-corporatization of politics
Presidentialization of politics (Th. Poguntke)
good governance
Post-democracy and/or post-politics
New Public Management (1)
Liberal classical bureaucracy (the 19th and the 20th
centuries)
The state is permanently growing in its size and functions (M. Gauchet)
The bureaucracy makes the state possible
The state and the political regime are separated (Max Weber)
Civil servants are accountable to the law, not to politicians
Politicians are accountable only to the people
New Public Management (2)
New Public Management (neoliberalism)
Bringing the market approach into the state bureaucracy
The states are becoming weak, thin and deregulated
The states are relieved of their traditional duties (health, pensions,
education)
Public institutions are becoming shareholders
Civil servants are becoming public managers
Neo-corporatization of politics
The pre-democratic era – vertical corporatization (the medieval guilds)
The democratic era – horizontal corporatization (political parties, trade
unions, NGOs)
The post-democratic era – vertical re/neo-corporatization (corporations,
comitology)
EU – the technocratic and corporatist establishment is judicial
institutionalized
The presidentialization of politics
The head of the executive power ≠ primus inter pares
The head of the political party – presidentialization of the party
media: presidentialization =˃ personalization of power
EU – the presidentialization of politics is judicial institutionalized
Governance ≠ Government
Conventional wisdom
A new paradigm in social sciences
Good governance – World Bank, 1989
A pattern of New Public Management
European Governance
GOVERNMENT, LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES
CITIZENS (nation, political community, demos)
90%
Political
level
EU, POST-POLITICAL GOVERNANCE
Second-hand citizens (no demos)
10%
Bureaucratic and
technocratic level
10%
Political
level
Bureaucratic and
technocratic level
90%
European Governance
Policy without politics
Autocratic governance beyond the state (Colin Crouch)
Post-democracy and post-politics
The rise of unelected (F. Vibert)
Post-democracy and post-politics (1)
Goal, target
POLITICS
POST-POLITICS
Government
Governance
Where is the political to be found? Politics
Policies
The executive
WHAT does the government do? HOW does the government do?
The state
Bureaucratic, strong
Post-bureaucratic, weak, liquefied
The political subject
Citizen(s) and/or the demos
Markets
Democracy
Liberal democracy
The political elites
Elected
Dialogical, deliberative, consensual
democracy
Appointed and unelected technocrats
(M. Monti)
Post-democracy and post-politics (2)
POLITICS
POST-POLITICS
Ontology
Conflict (Carl Schmitt)
Consensus
Public administration
Weberian (liberal)
New Public Management (neoliberal)
The primacy of…
Politics
Economy
The prevailing language
Political
Economical and legal
The state –
distinction
Social values
political
regime Clearly stated
Justice
Volatile
Transparency, efficiency
Modern liberal states
EU
(post-)
democracy
Social
rights
Free
market
Political
rights
Democracy
Single
market
Civil rights
Rule of law
Rule of law
?
Europe heading where to…?
Ultra-bureaucratization while the nation-state are de-bureaucratized
Deregulation of monetary and financial policies
Centralization of the technocratic decisions in the hands of the
monarchical element (EC)
Prevalence of knowledge and capital over the political will
Technical solutions to very political problems