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11. EU Accession of Central and Eastern European Countries: Democracy and Integration as Conflicting Logics

Author:
Kristi Raik
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Although the European Union has in many ways promoted democratisation in Central and Eastern Europe, there are several tensions between democracy and integration into the EU of the applicant countries. These tensions are explored in the paper from two perspectives. Firstly, it is argued that the conception of democracy that prevails in the candidate countries – or more specifically, the coupling of democracy with the nation – inevitably implies that integration into the EU restricts democracy. Secondly, the author exposes the norms and principles that dominate the Eastern enlargement – speed, objectivity, efficiency, expertise, competition and inevitability – and argues that these constrain democratic politics and tend to limit enlargement to a narrow sphere of elites and experts. The paper also draws parallels between these two dilemmas and the “democratic deficit” of the EU and discusses the prospects for mitigating the tensions that it highlights.
Topic:
Democratization
Political Geography:
Europe

12. What kind of Democracy, Whose Integration? Construction of democracy and integration into the EU of Estonia

Author:
Kristi Raik
Publication Date:
01-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Integration into the European Union has for many years been one of the top priorities of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs), playing a central role in both their foreign and domestic policies. Preparing for membership in the EU is in many ways connected to the development of democracy in these countries. The Union has declared support to democracy in the applicant countries to be one of the main priorities of eastern enlargement. In addition to concrete support, however, I argue that the relevance of the EU for democracy in the CEECs is even more due to indirect influence – integration is a dominant issue in the domestic politics of these countries and therefore an important part of continuous (re)production of democracy. This paper studies what kind of democracy has been constructed in one of the eastern applicant countries, Estonia, in the course of integration into the EU It analyses firstly the different conceptions of democracy that have been presented and put into practice as part of that process. Secondly, it places integration into the EU in the context of democratic politics of Estonia, asking whether preparations for EU membership have left room for more than a formal democracy to function.
Topic:
Democratization
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Estonia