The pursuit of legitimacy as a key driver for public engagement: The European Parliament case

Leston-Bandeira, Cristina

Abstract

Political disengagement and declining trust have become main areas of concern for parliaments in Europe, leading to a considerable reinforcement of public engagement activities. The European Parliament is a prime example of an institution where the need to strengthen the link with citizens became a key priority, in particular following the Lisbon Treaty's reinforcement of the parliament's powers and visibility. This article analyses the decision-making processes this Parliament has put in place to meet the public engagement agenda. It is mainly based on elite interviews with officials and representatives. We show that political will was key to move forward the public engagement agenda, and that new media has become a core element of this strategy.

Citation

Leston-Bandeira, C. (2014). The pursuit of legitimacy as a key driver for public engagement: The European Parliament case. Parliamentary affairs, 67(2), 415-436. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gss050

• Online Publication Date: Sep 7, 2012
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Journal: Parliamentary affairs
• Print ISSN: 0031-2290
• Electronic ISSN: 1460-2482
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 67
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 415-436
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gss050
• Keywords: Internet and parliament; European Parliament; Public engagement; Trust in parliament
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/466911
• Publisher URL: http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/67/2/415
• Additional Information: This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Parliamentary affairs following peer review. The version of record : Leston Bandeira, C. (2014) The pursuit of legitimacy as a key driver for public engagement : the European Parliament case, 67 (2) pp.415-436 is available online at: http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/67/2/415