摘要
The European debt crisis of 2009-2013 highlighted two dilemmas facing European democracy. Governments in chaos, social protest and the rise of extreme populism during the debt crisis were all symptoms of the dilemmas. This situation arose out of a profound set of circumstances, including new patterns of economic and social life, and the further decline of Europe's standing in the global arena. Europe cannot fix things simply by improving the democratic mechanism. Instead, the region needs to reflect systematically on how to adapt to a changed world.
The recent European debt crisis unexpectedly prolonged the region＇s woes following the global financial tsunami of 2008. From 2012, an uneasiness has been brewing over whether the debt crisis was not just an economic crisis but also a political one. The media has been awash with terms such as ＂democratic deficit＂, ＂legitimacy crisis＂ and ＂democratic crisis＂.1 German sociologist Jurgen Habermas lamented： ＂Sometime after 2008, I understood that the process of expansion, integration and democratization doesn＇t automatically move forward of its own accord, that it＇ s reversible, that for the first time in the history of the EU, we are actually experiencing a dismantling of democracy. I didn＇t think this was possible. We＇ ve reached a crossroads.＂2 In 2013, the theme of the Political Studies Association Annual International Conference in the UK was ＂The Party＇s Over？＂.
