The Legitimacy of Regional Integration in Europe and the Americas

This edited volume brings together cutting-edge empirical research on the legitimacy of regional integration processes in Europe and the Americas. Across fourteen chapters, specialists of regionalism in Europe, North America and South America demonstrate that the societal legitimacy of regional governance deserves attention because it affects the development - and relative success - of regional integration projects such as the EU, NAFTA and MERCOSUR. Employing a mixed-method perspective, the contributors to this volume examine public opinion, political discourse and civil society mobilization surrounding regional institutions, identifying distinct legitimation patterns in each of the three world regions. In doing so, they demonstrate that comparative research on the legitimation of regional governance advances our understanding of the driving forces, obstacles and trajectories of regional integration more generally.

Achim Hurrelmann is Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (EURUS) at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. His research focuses on the politicization and legitimation of regional and global governance, especially in the European Union.

Steffen Schneider is a Senior Research Fellow of the Centre for Social Policy Research, University of Bremen, Germany. His research interests are in comparative government and policy analysis. Publications include Democracy's Deep Roots: Why the Nation State Remains Legitimate (Palgrave Macmillan 2010, with Achim Hurrelmann et al.).