Epilogue: A Note of Caution on Differentiated Integration

This epilogue to the special issue of the Swiss Political Science Review on “Democratic Challenges of Differentiated (Dis)Integration” raises some notes of caution about differentiated integration in the European Union (EU). While the articles in this special issue identify challenges concerning differentiated integration, they generally view it in a positive light as a set of institutional arrangements that is likely to enhance the legitimacy and democratic accountability of the EU. This epilogue calls into question some of the main benefits widely associated with differentiated integration and emphasizes instead its dangers. The epilogue underlines some reasons why differentiated integration may be problematic from a democratic standpoint and explains why, if taken to an extreme, differentiated integration could even encourage the disintegration of the EU.