Demoi-cratic citizenship in Europe: an impossible ideal?

Abstract:

The idea of demoi-cracy, which proposes to base democratic institutions not on one demos but on multiple co-existing demoi, has gained increasing popularity in debates about the democratization of the European Union. Existing models of demoi-cracy have, however, paid relatively little attention to the qualities that Europeans would need to possess in order to effectively participate in European politics as demoi-cratic citizens. This contribution seeks to identify these qualities; it then looks at empirical evidence to assess whether it is realistic that Europeans will, at least in the medium term, be able to live up to these requirements. While there are some indications that Europeans adapt their patterns of political participation to demoi-cratic requirements, the danger remains that institutionalizing a system of demoi-cracy would further accentuate the existing participatory inequalities.

This article is part of a Special Issue of the Journal of European Public Policy.

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