From spectators to participants? : MEPs’ views on democracy after the Conference on the Future of Europe
Siekkinen, Pauliina (2025)
2025
Politiikan tutkimuksen maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in Politics
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2025-04-29
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202504294361
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202504294361
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse democracy and the inclusion of EU citizens from the viewpoint of Members of the European Parliament (MEP) following the Conference on the Future of Europe. The Conference was a year-long project created by the EU to allow its citizens to take an active part in shaping the future of the Union. The Conference was made of three elements that used methods of deliberative democracy: an online platform, citizens’ panels and a conference plenary.
The EU has come under significant scrutiny because of the complexity of EU politics and the lack of participation by its citizens. The EU’s democratic issues and views on democracy have been researched a lot, however, the majority of previous research has focused on the larger picture and the Europarties or political groups of the European Parliament. By taking a closer look at the MEPs themselves, a more authentic picture of their views on democracy can be formed.
The theoretical framework of this thesis is formed around the three main democratic theories: representative, participatory and deliberative. Discourse analysis will be used for analysing the source materials in light of the democratic theories. This analysis of the MEPs’ views on democracy will be carried out by analysing speeches given by MEPs during two plenary sessions of the European Parliament that were held in Autumn 2023.
The research material showed that more traditional and right-wing political groups are in favour of sticking to the status quo of representative democracy. However, the further from the centre the political groups are, the more likely they are to be in favour of deliberative and participatory democracy and advocate for grass-root level of participation. MEPs across the whole political spectrum have a desire for a more active inclusion of citizens, but the format through which this should be done varies significantly.
The EU has come under significant scrutiny because of the complexity of EU politics and the lack of participation by its citizens. The EU’s democratic issues and views on democracy have been researched a lot, however, the majority of previous research has focused on the larger picture and the Europarties or political groups of the European Parliament. By taking a closer look at the MEPs themselves, a more authentic picture of their views on democracy can be formed.
The theoretical framework of this thesis is formed around the three main democratic theories: representative, participatory and deliberative. Discourse analysis will be used for analysing the source materials in light of the democratic theories. This analysis of the MEPs’ views on democracy will be carried out by analysing speeches given by MEPs during two plenary sessions of the European Parliament that were held in Autumn 2023.
The research material showed that more traditional and right-wing political groups are in favour of sticking to the status quo of representative democracy. However, the further from the centre the political groups are, the more likely they are to be in favour of deliberative and participatory democracy and advocate for grass-root level of participation. MEPs across the whole political spectrum have a desire for a more active inclusion of citizens, but the format through which this should be done varies significantly.