Politicization without democratization: The impact of the Eurozone crisis on EU constitutionalism

This paper shows how the European integration process overburdened EU law in an attempt to overcome political deficiencies, with negative consequences for the Union’s democratic legitimacy. The analysis is framed by the ‘twin crises’ of twenty-first century EU constitutionalism: the defeat of the Constitutional Treaty and the Eurozone debt crisis. Part of the legacy of the first crisis was a retreat from the ideal of democratization via politicization. Now, as a result of the second crisis, the integration project has become politicized and European policies highly salient for national voters. However, this process has occurred largely against the will of EU leaders, who have sought technocratic solutions to what are inherently political problems. Thus, over the past decade, the EU has moved from an unsuccessful attempt at democratization via politicization, to an unintended politicization without democratization.