Accountability and opposition to globalization in international assemblies

TY - JOUR

T1 - Accountability and opposition to globalization in international assemblies

AU - De Wilde, Pieter

AU - Junk, Wiebke Marie

AU - Palmtag, Tabea

PY - 2016/12/1

Y1 - 2016/12/1

N2 - Advocates of a global democratic parliament have expressed hopes that this would not only legitimize global governance in procedural terms, but also bring about more cosmopolitan policies. They point to the European Parliament as an example of a successful real existing democratic parliament beyond the state with cosmopolitan intent. We analyse plenary debates in the United Nations General Assembly and the European Parliament about the issues of climate change, human rights, migration, trade and European integration between 2004 and 2011 to study the nature of opposition to cosmopolitanism within these two assemblies. We find more vocal and better-organized opposition to cosmopolitanism in the European Parliament than in the United Nations General Assembly. We demonstrate the plausibility that direct and more proportional mechanisms of delegation and accountability in the case of the European Parliament account for this observed difference. Should further research confirm these initial findings, advocates of a global democratic parliament may find that an empowered democratic World Parliament would support less cosmopolitan policies than the current United Nations General Assembly.

AB - Advocates of a global democratic parliament have expressed hopes that this would not only legitimize global governance in procedural terms, but also bring about more cosmopolitan policies. They point to the European Parliament as an example of a successful real existing democratic parliament beyond the state with cosmopolitan intent. We analyse plenary debates in the United Nations General Assembly and the European Parliament about the issues of climate change, human rights, migration, trade and European integration between 2004 and 2011 to study the nature of opposition to cosmopolitanism within these two assemblies. We find more vocal and better-organized opposition to cosmopolitanism in the European Parliament than in the United Nations General Assembly. We demonstrate the plausibility that direct and more proportional mechanisms of delegation and accountability in the case of the European Parliament account for this observed difference. Should further research confirm these initial findings, advocates of a global democratic parliament may find that an empowered democratic World Parliament would support less cosmopolitan policies than the current United Nations General Assembly.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Representation

KW - EU

KW - UN

KW - Claims analysis

KW - United Nations General Assemblies

KW - cleavage

KW - globalization

U2 - 10.1177/1354066115604032

DO - 10.1177/1354066115604032

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1354-0661

VL - 22

SP - 823

EP - 846

JO - European Journal of International Relations

JF - European Journal of International Relations

IS - 4

M1 - 5

ER -