European Democracy as Demoi-cracy

Whereas ‘democracy’ assumes a single demos or people, ‘ demoi -cracy’ refers to democratic government and governance in a polity constituted by separate peoples. Since the European Union consists of many demoi with different collective identities, largely separate public spheres, and a predominantly national political infrastructure, demoi -cracy is an appropriate standard for the analysis and evaluation of democracy in the EU. In its vertical dimension, demoi- cracy is based on the equality and