The article investigates standards of democracy and accountability in external differentiated integration. It focuses on the area of freedom security and justice as a highly differentiated EU policy domain that combines patterns of internal and external differentiation. Two case studies in the field of Schengen and police cooperation illustrate how differentiated policies can affect participating third countries in democratic terms. The analysis shows that although countries associated to EU policies maintain their full sovereignty and jurisdiction, the pressure to comply is high and the threat of exclusion can lead to incongruence in both participation in decision making and accountability. Furthermore, the overlap between internal and external differentiation results in a frayed participation landscape that obfuscates accountability processes and can create legal uncertainty.
Patrin, M. (2025) “Democratic standards in external differentiation: the area of freedom, security and justice”. West European Politics, 48(5), 1002–1028. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2025.2477398
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This work was supported by the European Union under the Marie Skolodowska-Curie Grant Agreement n. 101152144.