Ein Maß für Demokratie: europäische Demokratien im Vergleich

'Gibt es ein Maß für Demokratie? In Auseinandersetzung mit bisherigen Versuchen, den Begriff Demokratie so zu operationalisieren, dass er zum Maßstab taugt (insbes. mit David Beethams Indikatorensystem, das ihm als Basis eines 'Democratic Audit' dient), wird hier ein Konzept vorgestellt, das Demokratie nicht von vornherein als ein bestimmtes Institutionensystem (miss-)versteht, sondern (1) Demokratie fest an die Selbstbestimmung der Individuen bindet und (2) die politischen Institutionen in Relation zur jeweiligen Gesellschaftsstruktur setzt. An dem entsprechenden Maßstab werden anschließend einige politische Systeme gemessen, und zwar das 'Mutterland' der Demokratie Großbritannien, die 'halb-direkte' Demokratie der Schweiz sowie das im Entstehen begriffene politische System der Europäischen Union. Untersucht werden jeweils die Entscheidungszentren und die Hauptakteure (u.a. im Hinblick auf die Frage: bei wem liegt die 'Letztentscheidung'?); die Gesellschaftsstruktur - die 'Opportunitätsstrukturen' unter der Fragestellung: welche Rolle spielt das 'Volk'?' (Autorenreferat)'Can you measure democracy? Based on previous attempts to operationalise the term 'democracy' in such a way that it can be used as a measuring instrument (especially on David Beetham's indicator-system which forms the basis for his 'democratic audit'), a concept will be presented that does not (mis-)understand democracy from the outset as a specific set of institutions but (1) connects democracy firmly to the self-determination of individuals and (2) puts the political institutions in relation to the respective societal structure. Several political systems are then measured by applying this 'measure for democracy': the 'motherland of democracy' Great Britain, the 'half-direct' democracy of Switzerland and the still evolving political system of the European Union. The following points will be up for examination: the centres of decision-making and the main actors (inter alia with respect to the question: who takes the final decision?); the societal structure - the 'opportunity structures'; i.e.: where do the 'people' come in? ' (author's abstract)

Is a Federal European Constitution for an Enlarged European Union Necessary? Some Preliminary Suggestions Using Public Choice Analysis

In order to guarantee a further successful functioning of the enlarged European Union a Federal European Constitution is proposed. Six basic elements of a future European federal constitution are developed: the European commission should be turned into an European government and the European legislation should consist of a two chamber system with full responsibility over all federal items. Three further key elements are the subsidiarity principle, federalism and the secession right, which are best suited to limiting the domain of the central European authority to which certain tasks are given, such as defense, foreign and environmental policy. Another important feature is direct democracy, which provides the possibility for European voters to participate actively in the political decision making, to break political and interest group cartels, and to prevent an unwanted shifting of responsibilities from EU member states to the European federal level

Ein Maß für Demokratie: Europäische Demokratien im Vergleich = A Measure for Democracy: European Democracies in Comparison. IHS Political Science Series: 2001, No. 76

Can you measure democracy? Based on previous attempts to operationalise the term "democracy" in such a way that it can be used as a measuring instrument (especially on David Beetham’s indicator-system which forms the basis for his "democratic audit"), a concept will be presented that does not (mis-)understand democracy from the outset as a specific set of institutions but (1) connects democracy firmly to the self-determination of individuals and (2) puts the political institutions in relation to the respective societal structure. Several political systems are then measured by applying this "measure for democracy:" the "motherland of democracy" Great Britain, the "half-direct" democracy of Switzerland and the still evolving political system of the European Union. The following points will be up for examination: - the centres of decision-making and the main actors (inter alia with respect to the question: who takes the final decision?) - the societal structure - the "opportunity structures"; i. e.: where do the "people" come in