竞争性政体理论视角下的欧盟合法性问题

欧盟合法性问题是近年来学术界关注的热点 ,本文引入竞争性政体理论对传统的以主权国家视角对欧盟合法性进行研究的方法提出了挑战。本文对合法性概念的界定主要从两个向度展开 ,即认同和代表性 ,并提出了欧盟中存在的新的认同和代表模式 ,它们构成了欧盟合法性的实际和潜在的来源。欧盟宪法的诞生将提高公众对欧盟的认同和逐步扩大欧盟的代表性。竞争性政体理论对欧盟合法性问题的解释能更好地符合欧盟今天已发展为一个多层次治理的竞争性的政体的现实。

Legitimacy of European Union in the perspective of contested polity theory

The legitimacy of the European Union has been the focus of attention of scholars in recent years. This article adopts a new theory - contested polity, which challenges the traditional approach. We define a legitimate polity as a broadly recognized framework for politics with representative institutions. Both dimensions of legitimacy - identity and representation have new forms in the context of the EU, which constitute an important, often overlooked source of political legitimacy within the EU. The birth of the European constitution will increase public identity with the EU and expand representation. The theory of contested polity rethinks the problems of legitimacy, identity, and representation in terms more appropriate to the evolving nature of EU polity.