Chapter 7 Answer guidance

Q9) What are the main criticisms on normative grounds that can be advanced against new governance?

See section 7.5

  • The main normative debate is about the reconciliation of new governance with traditional forms of liberal democracy.
  • New governance arguably lacks legitimacy and is undemocratic.
  • Proponents of new governance argue that:
    • decision-making involves non-controversial, regulatory decisions.
    • these decisions are best left to experts, away from the political arena.
  • Opponents argue that:
    • many decisions have significant societal impact and outcomes may favour/disadvantage certain groups.
    • many decisions are not purely regulatory but involve ethical, emotional, and economic arguments, e.g. decisions about genetically modified organisms.
    • experts may constitute an epistemic community with a particular, dogmatic worldview, e.g. finance experts with a neoliberal worldview.
    • Therefore, regulatory decisions require democratic legitimation through representative institutions or deliberative mechanisms.
  • Currently, deliberative democratic mechanisms in the EU are limited.
    • Consultation with European civil society favours Brussels-based civil society organizations.
    • There are concerns over how representative these organizations are.
    • Commission-funded organizations may have been co-opted as ‘approved participants’.
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