Europe in Search of Legitimate Governance

Which way for Europe towards legitimate governance? This paper discusses the broad issue of EU legitimacy in the light of present challenges to governance. Though focusing on the EU, it thus carries more general implications. The paper applies the familiar concepts of interest and power, but what looks like a parsimonious approach in the realist tradition is enlightened by a neo-institutionalist perspective. We will thus look closer at competing interests and roles as well as rational strategies of national governments, evaluating what are the main opportunities as well as barriers for a more democratic and legitimate EU governance structure to appear.