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Political Legitimacy and the Invisibility of Politics: Exploring the European Union’s Communication Deficit

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  • Christoph Meyer

Abstract

The debate about the legitimacy deficit of the European Union (EU) has so far devoted little attention to the role of political communication in legitimating governance. The resignation of the Commission has highlighted the consequences of communicative failure and points to the new role of the media in EU affairs. The article analyses and evaluates the Commission’s media communicationand places it in the context of the EU’s broader institutional set‐up and decision‐making procedures. The article argues that the Commission’s public communication suffers from the fragmentation of political authority, a pervading technocratic mindset and a lack of adequate staffing. More importantly, however, the Commission is located within a system of governance which depoliticizes conflict and obfuscates political accountability. This system has been used by Member States to circumvent public scrutiny and externalize public dissatisfaction to the Commission.

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  • Christoph Meyer, 1999. "Political Legitimacy and the Invisibility of Politics: Exploring the European Union’s Communication Deficit," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 617-639, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:37:y:1999:i:4:p:617-639
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-5965.00199
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    Cited by:

    1. Brüggemann, Michael & Sifft, Stefanie & Kleinen von Königslöw, Katharina & Peters, Bernhard & Wimmel, Andreas, 2006. "Segmented Europeanization: the transnationalization of public spheres in Europe ; trends and patterns / Michael Brüggemann; Stefanie Sifft; Katharina Kleinen," TranState Working Papers 37, University of Bremen, Collaborative Research Center 597: Transformations of the State.
    2. Filippo Rutto & Silvia Russo & Cristina Mosso, 2014. "Development and Validation of a Democratic System Justification Scale," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(2), pages 645-655, September.
    3. Jochen Peter & Holli A. Semetko & Claes H. de Vreese, 2003. "EU Politics on Television News," European Union Politics, , vol. 4(3), pages 305-327, September.
    4. Özdemir, Sina & Rauh, Christian, 2022. "A Bird’s Eye View: Supranational EU Actors on Twitter," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(1), pages 133-145.
    5. Nicholas Clark & Timothy Hellwig, 2012. "Information effects and mass support for EU policy control," European Union Politics, , vol. 13(4), pages 535-557, December.
    6. Andrea Fracasso & Nicola Grassano & Giuseppe Vittucci Marzetti, 2015. "The Gravity of Foreign News Coverage in the EU: Does the Euro Matter?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 274-291, March.
    7. Jan Beyers, 2004. "Voice and Access," European Union Politics, , vol. 5(2), pages 211-240, June.
    8. Peter Aagaard, 2023. "EU Public Legitimation in the Social Media Era: Co‐ordinating the Political Communication of the European Commission," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 616-635, May.
    9. Brüggemann, Michael, 2005. "How the EU constructs the European public sphere: seven strategies of information policy," TranState Working Papers 19, University of Bremen, Collaborative Research Center 597: Transformations of the State.
    10. Sina Özdemir & Christian Rauh, 2022. "A Bird’s Eye View: Supranational EU Actors on Twitter," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(1), pages 133-145.
    11. Emmanuel Sigalas, 2010. "Cross-border mobility and European identity: The effectiveness of intergroup contact during the ERASMUS year abroad," European Union Politics, , vol. 11(2), pages 241-265, June.
    12. Claes H. de Vreese & Susan A. Banducci & Holli A. Semetko & Hajo G. Boomgaarden, 2006. "The News Coverage of the 2004 European Parliamentary Election Campaign in 25 Countries," European Union Politics, , vol. 7(4), pages 477-504, December.
    13. Stephanie B. Anderson, 2013. "Mission Impossible: Why Crisis Management Missions Do Not Increase the Visibility of the European Union," KFG Working Papers p0058, Free University Berlin.
    14. Jens Steffek, 2008. "Public Accountability and the Public Sphere of International Governance," RECON Online Working Papers Series 3, RECON.

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