Agonistic reflections on the legitimacy of EU referenda

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article suggests that we need to rethink the legitimacy of EU referenda by considering them as democratic games with different groups of players, levels and rounds. Unlike most research on EU referenda informed by direct democracy or demoicracy, the article employs the approach of agonistic democracy. It argues that we need to shift analytical focus from the member-state to the EU citizen and develop EU-level criteria for a comprehensive assessment of EU referenda’s legitimacy. The criteria are whether all EU citizens – and not just the citizens from the country conducting the referendum – had opportunities to participate in the political dialogue surrounding the EU referendum, and whether citizens across the EU have been able to develop EU-level democratic subjectivities through such participation. Applying these criteria in the cases of the Greek and British EU referenda, the article finds legitimacy shortcomings for both, yet with variations.