Assessing Democratic Legitimacy from a Deliberative Perspective

In this article, I outline an analytical framework allowing for an assessment of the democratic legitimacy of the decision-making system of the EU’s second pillar with reference to five criteria. The criteria are developed on the basis of a discoursetheoretical reading of a deliberative perspective on democracy. Empirical indicators for each criterion are specified and discussed. With this analytical framework the institutional and procedural aspects of the second pillar decision-making system can be evaluated for its democratic qualities or lack thereof.