Special Issue: Changing the European Debate: A Rollback of Democracy

The evolution of democracy within and outside the EU is increasingly finding itself under critical scrutiny. Indeed there is agreement across the various contributions to this special issue, guest edited by Helmut K. Anheier, that the state of democratic systems has deteriorated – not only in Europe but also in the United States. Consequently it contains contributions by academics and practitioners that analyse democracy from a variety perspectives including philosophy, history, sociology, the economy and international development. It seeks to forward the process of critical exchange between researchers and policy makers to develop effective and sustainable solutions for future policy challenges.

Introduction

Helmut K. Anheier - Current Trajectories of Democracy – Diagnosis, Implications, Proposals

A rollback of democracy: approaches

Ewa Atanassow - Rollback of Democracy? A Tocquevillean Perspective

Dario Castiglione - Trajectories and Transformations of the Democratic Representative System

Arndt Leininger - Direct Democracy in Europe: Potentials and Pitfalls

A rollback of democracy: regional perspectives

Béla Greskovits - The Hollowing and Backsliding of Democracy in East Central Europe

László Bruszt - Regional Normalization and National Deviations: EU Integration and Transformations in Europe's Eastern Periphery

Elisabeth Kotthaus - External Democracy Promotion and Protection: the EU Approach

Didi Kuo and Nolan McCarty - Democracy in America, 2015

Wolfgang Seibel - Arduous Learning or New Uncertainties? The Emergence of German Diplomacy in the Ukrainian Crisis

A rollback of democracy: issues

Sonja Grimm - European Democracy Promotion in Crisis: Conflicts of Objectives, Neglected External–Domestic Interactions and the Authoritarian Backlash

Alexander Ruser - By the Markets, of the Markets, for the Markets? Technocratic Decision Making and the Hollowing Out of Democracy

Bernhard Weßels - Political Culture, Political Satisfaction and the Rollback of Democracy

Jonathan White - When Parties Make Peoples

Alina Mungiu-Pippidi - Fixing Europe Is About Performance, Not Democracy

Conclusion

Helmut K. Anheier - Conclusion: How to Rule the Void? Policy Responses to a ‘Hollowing Out’ of Democracy