Paper Example on Good Governance and Democratic Legitimacy: Definition and Application

Introduction

The concepts of governance and democratic legitimacy have featured prominently in academic and political discourses for a long time. However, there still lacks consensus as to what exactly the two concepts mean and how they can be applied to the different political systems that exist in the world today. Nevertheless, it is widely acceptable that a government or state that lacks proper structures of good governance or one that lacks legitimacy cannot thrive for a long time (Vesnic-alujevic, & Nacarino, 2012). Such a government is bound to come to a deadlock and eventual collapse. Such is the importance of governance and democratic legitimacy because they relate directly to the survival of the state, regime, or government. The relationship between the two concepts has also been studied closely in modern literature with the objective of determining how one influences the other (Greenwood, 2007). Therefore, with the various systems of governance that exist in the world today, it is important to analyze how the different governments or systems of governance achieve and maintain legitimacy for them to thrive.

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Conceptualizing the Concepts

Governance entails the interaction between formal institutions and those in a civil society. It is the process through which government institutions acquire and exercise their power, authority, and influence by enacting policies, legislation, and making decisions that concern public life and social improvement of the people (Vesnic-alujevic, & Nacarino, 2012). Therefore, governance implies a high level of organizational effectiveness in terms of formulating policies and pursuing strategies that contribute to socioeconomic growth, stability, and popular welfare within a state (Greenwood, 2007). Therefore, good governance is based on the principles of accountability, transparency, public participation, openness, and respect for the rule of law.

Democratic legitimacy, on the other hand, refers to the popular acceptance of a political regime, government, or system of governance. This implies that an elected government derives its authority and power from the masses to whom it is accountable. Therefore, democratic legitimacy is the bedrock of democratic systems of governance where there are regular free and fair elections (Vesnic-alujevic, & Nacarino, 2012). This implies that the population has to be allowed to participate in the decision making process through giving their opinions on major policies and laws being enacted by elected officials. Furthermore, democratic legitimacy denotes that the elected representatives and the government adheres to the rule of law, the constitution, and respects the rights and responsibilities of the citizens.

Given the definitions of the two concepts above, it can be deduced that both concepts are closely related. Governance creates a conducive environment for democratic legitimacy, thereby making the government of the day more acceptable with the population. This is because good governance ensures the government remains committed to the values of accountability, transparency, public participation, and the rule of law, which are also essential in democratic legitimacy (Vesnic-alujevic, & Nacarino, 2012). When a state embraces good governance, it enhances its chances of being acceptable and therefore, considered legitimate. Therefore, democratic legitimacy only thrives where there is good governance (Vesnic-alujevic, & Nacarino, 2012). While democratic legitimacy is derived from the people, governance cements the relationship between the people and the state by ensuring that the elected officials and existing institutions serve in the interest of the masses.

Empirical Case Study

The European Union (EU) is a major economic and political bloc that brings together 28 member states within the European Continent. With a population of more than 500 million people covering a combined area of 4,475,757 km2, the European Union is one of the largest and most influential jurisdictions in the world. Despite being such an influential institution, there have been questions about the governance of the EU have persisted over the years. Critics of the EU argue that it lacks democratic legitimacy (Vitkovitch, 2015). Opinion is divided as to whether there is a democracy deficit in the EU and how any such deficit ought to be remedied, if it does exist. These differences of opinions have led to two major political factions within the EU; those who argue for strengthening institutions within the EU to make them more accountable to the people and those who argue for reducing the powers and influence of the EU on member states or the eventual withdrawal of their states from the union.

In terms of governance in the EU, the union has created a structure of governance, which enables the European Council to wield both legislative and executive authority. The main objective of the EU is to promote values such as inclusion, peace, environmental protection, and improve the wellbeing of the member nations (Vitkovitch, 2015). The EU is omitted to democratic values governance bot at the level of the union's leadership as well at the national level for each member country.

There are two main sources of democratic legitimacy in the EU. First, there is the European Parliament, which is chosen by the electorates within individual member states of the EU. This is the legislative branch of the EU and is one of the seven major institutions of the EU (Vitkovitch, 2015). With more than 375 million eligible voters, the EU parliament represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (Vitkovitch, 2015). The representatives in the EU parliament are directly elected by the citizens of the EU after every five years on the basis of universal suffrage. This ensures that the citizens of the EU are able to democratically elect their representatives, thereby ensuring the democratic legitimacy through democratic elections and public participation. There are several parties with representatives within the EU parliament with the largest parties being the European People's Party group (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

The EU also derives its democratic legitimacy from the Council of the European Union, which works closely together with the European Council. The Council of the European Union comprises of European ministers while the European Council brings together all the heads of national governments in the EU (Ward, 2010). The Council of the European Union and the European Council work together to elect the European Commission, which is the executive branch of the European Union. With this kind of structure of governance, democratic legitimacy in the EU can be compared with that of other federal states such as the US, which derives its democratic legitimacy from the senate and the House of Representatives. Within such a framework, for a proposed bill to become law as well as any major policies, a decision must first be approved by the institution representing the people as a whole as well as by a separate body that represents the people of the individual states (Ward, 2010). The relationship between the executive branch and the legislative arm of the EU ensures that there is good governance since all legislations and policies must first be approved by institutions that represent the masses as well as those that represent the individual member states (Ward, 2010).

References

Greenwood, J. (2007). Organized civil society and democratic legitimacy in the European Union. British Journal of Political Science, 37(2), 333.

Vesnic-alujevic, L., & Nacarino, R. C. (2012). The EU and its democratic deficit: Problems and (possible) solutions. European View, 11(1), 63-70.

Vitkovitch, S. (2015). Assessing the European parliament's democratic credentials. Romanian Journal of European Affairs, 15(4), 5-25.

Ward, T. (2010). The European Union: A crisis of legitimacy? European View, 9(1), 115-127.