Building the EU`s social constituency: exploring the dynamics of public claims-making and collective representation in Europe

最近起草的欧洲联盟宪法提出了新兴欧洲政体与其社会选民之间的关系问题。从本质上讲，欧洲社会选民（人民或政体的公众）的根本关切在于欧洲作为一个民众的可接受性和必要性。规范性的期望是，一个构成的欧洲政体需要这样一个demos，这被视为欧洲治理合法性的基础。经验问题是，欧洲的这种规范性观念是否作为一种民主渠道，并指导欧盟成员国内部和外部的集体行动和公共沟通。《欧洲宪法》为欧盟多层次体制框架内的民主和合法治理设定了标准。这些宪法安排如何与潜在欧洲公民的声音共同发展？该项目的目的是实证评估欧盟的社会选民，并解释其在欧洲合法政治秩序的演变中的作用。

The recently drafted constitution of the European Union raises the question of the relationship of the emerging European polity to its social constituency. In essence the underlying concern of a European social constituency ( the people or the public of the polity) lies in the plausibility and requisiteness of Europe as a demos . The normative expectation is that a constituted European polity requires such a demos, which is seen as the basis for the legitimacy of European governance. The empirical question is whether such a normative idea of Europe as a demos channels and guides collective action and public communication within and beyond the national boundaries of the EU-member states. The European constitution has set the Standards for democratic and legitimate governance within the multi-level institutional framework of the EU. How do these constitutional arrangements co-evolve with the voice of potential European citizens? The aim of the project is to empirically assess the EU¿s social constituency and explain its role in the evolution of a legitimate political order in Europe.