ABSTRACT
On the occasion of the opposition to the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, Robert Dahl asked how the vitality of the democratic process in such a large-scale trans-national political community could be maintained (Dahl 1997). One of his recommendations pertains to the enhancement of democratic life in smaller communities below the level of the nation-state. He argues that it is essential that the enlargement of scale inherent in the extension of trans-national democracy should not lead to a ‘widening sense of powerlessness’, by giving citizens opportunities to ‘exercise significant control over decisions on a smaller scale of matters important in their daily lives’ (Dahl 1997: 440).
