Europe's Crisis of Legitimacy: Governing by Rules and Ruling by Numbers in the Eurozone | Vivien A. Schmidt
This volume examines the interrelationship between democratic legitimacy at the European level and the ongoing Eurozone crisis that began in 2010. Using the lens of democratic theory, it examines the crisis in terms of the policies, politics, and processes surrounding it, and the nature and interactions of elements that scholars and policy analysts tend to deal with separately. These include the political-economic structures and policies that contribute to the economic (output) performance, the political institutions and interactions that affect the (input) politics, and the governance rules and networks that make up the (throughput) processes. In so doing, this volume assesses the empirics of these policies, politics, and processes and the way this affects their legitimacy. In addition to an engaging and distinctive analysis of Eurozone crisis and its impact on democratic legitimacy, the book will offer a number of theoretical insights into the broader question of the functioning of the EU, and international governance more generally.