Democratic Accountability in a System of Global Governance: The case of the European Union : A sheer thought of utopia or a possible outcome?

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AbstractThis thesis deals with the democratic accountability question within systems of global governance, but focuses on the European Union. The main ambition has been to explore and give an account for the current situation, and lack of accountability as a part of the European Union democratic deficit. It will also stress some of the solutions proposed. In order to fulfil this I have used classic liberal democracy theory and multi level governance theory. The thesis defines the concept of accountability as to be held accountable to a constituency or a superior official and the relationship between them can take many different shapes. Several factors are identified as threats to accountability such as many tiers of governance, no clearly defined responsibilities and the lack of elected politicians on a level of global governance. By establishing the EU as a government of multi level governance and a bearer of democratic values, problems with accountability and hence legitimacy will be presented in relation to the EU:s sui generis features and unique composition. The thesis concludes that even though a union with democratic accountability is highly desired, it is not feasible that it will happen in the nearest future, hence as the situation is today with scattered responsibilities and an invisibility within the non elected institutions, accountability remains a utopia for coming generations to impl...