▪ Abstract  The recent publication of all the essays and articles written by Robert A. Dahl between 1940 and 1997 is an occasion to note the capacity of Dahl's theory of democracy to address specific problems within specific democratic countries. This review draws the threads of Dahl's work together and then applies them to the European situation. Its aim is not only to give coherence to Dahl's lifelong research project but also to show that his theory may help identify the basic institutional and normative questions that the political development of European integration has to answer.