democratic deficit

基本解释

The Economist concedes that our rescue plan begins with a democratic deficit that needs to be fixed if steps towards closer fiscal union are to work.
《经济学人》承认，如果针对财政联盟的措施要起效的话，我们的救援计划需要从国内赤字开始。
Yet the EU's real failing is not a democratic or institutional deficit—it is what the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank, has termed a “delivery deficit”.
而欧盟真正的失败不是民主上的或制度上的不足--而是伦敦欧洲改革中心所说的"传递不足"。
The democratic deficit, the erosion of social capital and the question of shared values prevailed in modern society are the consequences of the loss of active citizenship.
现代社会普遍存在的民主的赤字、社会资本的销蚀和共享价值的迷失都是主动公民身份消解的后果。

While praising the president's eloquence, Republicans asserted that he failed to deliver specifics, and re-stated criticisms that Democratic proposals would impose new tax burdens on Americans and small businesses and add to deficit spending.

But Germany's focus on discipline is arguably an attempt to fix a democratic deficit.
ECONOMIST: Charlemagne
When, as now, the economy is thriving, the place hardly seems preoccupied with its democratic deficit.
ECONOMIST: Democracy deferred
The parliament has long accrued power by arguing that it offers a cure for the democratic deficit in European construction.
ECONOMIST: European politics

any situation in which there is believed to be a lack of democratic accountability and control over the decision-making process