The internationalisation of political decision making has changed the role of the state dramatically. More and more political decisions are taken in forums beyond the DCIS which are only highly indirectly democratically legitimised. Against this background this project investigates the possible emergence of features of legitimate governance on an international and supranational level.
Are there any chances for a "democratisation" of European and international governance? Under which circumstances could elements of democratically legitimate statehood newly develop beyond the DCIS? To answer these questions, the project analyses in detail the participation of civil-social actors in political consultation processes on the inter- and supranational level. The following normative model summarises the potential function of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as a "transmission belt" between international organizations and the global citizenry:

Emanating from this theoretical model the project investigates empirically to what extent the legitimation potentials presented here are already realised. In the first project phase, arrangements for CSO participation in 32 international organisations, regimes and policy fields of the EU were analysed. During that investigation major deficits were identified with regard to civil society access, and little responsiveness of government representatives towards civil society’s concerns was found. In the second project phase the research focuses on how civil society organisations consult with their members and how they channel citizen’s requests and interests into policy processes beyond the state.

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Project application 2007-2010 in German
Project application 2003-2006 in German