Building the EU s social constituency: exploring the dynamics of public claims-making and collective representation in Europe I

The recently drafted constitution of the European Union raises the question of the relationship of the emerging European polity to its social constituency. In essence the underlying concern of a European social constituency ( the people or the public of the polity) lies in the plausibility and requisiteness of Europe as a demos . The normative expectation is that a constituted European polity requires such a demos, which is seen as the basis for the legitimacy of European governance. The empirical question is whether such a normative idea of Europe as a demos channels and guides collective action and public communication within and beyond the national boundaries of the EU-member states. The European constitution has set the standards for democratic and legitimate governance within the multi-level institutional framework of the EU. How do these constitutional arrangements co-evolve with the voice of potential European citizens? The aim of the project is to empirically assess the EU s social constituency and explain its role in the evolution of a legitimate political order in Europe.