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Masters
Thesis
Title:
Information
Communication Technology and Democratisation in the Euroepan
Union: An Analysis
Abstract:
This thesis aims to study the impact of Information Communication
Technologies (ICTs) on the democratisation of the European
Union. The European Union (EU) was not designed as a democracy,
but more as a "benign technocracy"
The permissive consensus which has existed in matters of European
integration has eroded as responsibilities of national governments
have been transferred to the central institutions of the EU.
It has become commonplace to note that the EU suffers from
a lack of democracy. If the integration process is to successfully
continue, European institutions need to be made more accountable
to the public. In the words of the European Commission, "Europe
will ...need strong institutions that answer to new forms
of democratic governance."
In an effort to accomplish this goal, institutional reform
has been accompanied by the development of an Information
Society (IS). Viewed through the methodological lens of medium
theory, ICTs raise the democratic expectations for the EU.
The introduction of ICTs has provided greater legitimacy to
the European institutions. The institutional structure of
the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council
of Ministers preclude this legitimacy from being translated
into increased accountability. The social and political effects
of ICTs will create public pressure for institutional reform
beyond the Amsterdam and Nice Treaties, as awareness of the
deficit of accountability grows.
Papers:
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Papers
formally submitted and returned for Pols 4913
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