Institutional Balance, Civic Virtue and Dialogue: A Republican Balancing Act for the EU Constitutional Order

Non-domination is a central tenet of republicanism and a foundational principle of the EU constitutional order. Republicanism, however, has often been overlooked as a legitimating principle in the EU. This article explores the EU from a non-dominating paradigm. It shows that the institutional balance, as opposed to the separation of powers, has descriptive and normative force in the EU. Additionally, this analysis provides a systematic reinterpretation of the EU analysing its institutional balance from a dialogical perspective that emphasizes republican values linked with civic virtue. This highlights that intergovernmental,supranational, the peoples, interest group, and technocratic actors are vital players ‘free and equal’ to exert influence that shapes and reshapes the institutional balance to reflect their own vision of the public good. The republican model presented in this article provides for the active participation and limitation of each actor that can – and should – be understood as enhancing the democratic nature and legitimation of the EU.