Political Theory of the European Union

* An innovative attempt to present a Political Theory of the European Union * Contributors are leading experts in their respective fields Debate about the theory underpinning the nature, workings, and development of the European (EU) has in many ways been hampered in recent years by an intellectual divergence in the two main ways that the EU is conceptualized. On the one hand is a political science and comparative government oriented strand that sees the EU as a political system in its own right. On the other is the international relations tradition which conceptualizes it as another international organization. Alongside this, the EU itself has developed a significant constitutional dimension. Indeed, the debate surrounding the 'Constitutional Treaty' presented several challenges to our capacity to grasp the normative change of this non-state polity. Despite the eventual contestation of the EU's 'constitutional turn' through the French and Dutch no-votes and the cumbersome procedure of ratifying the Lisbon Treaty in their aftermath, debates about the EU's constitutional quality have not ceased. In the light of these developments, the editors of this volume, along with their distinguished contributors, have attempted to create a more decisively interdisciplinary theoretical approach to studying the EU within the wider world-political context. The volume brings together scholars in a range of disciplines across the social sciences to offer, not a complete theory, but rather a theoretical approach combining different stands of political and legal theory. The book's aim is to inspire further engagement with the central tenets of political authority and world order, sovereignty and constitutional change and democracy and justice, in the context of the EU's political development. Readership: Scholars and students of political science, EU studies, political theory, and international relations.

1: Jürgen Neyer and Antje Wiener: Introduction: The State of the Art of a Non-State-Oriented Political Theory Part I: Political Authority in a Changing World Order 2: Ulrich Beck and Edgar Grande: Empire Europe: Statehood and Political Authority in the Process of Regional Integration 3: Ian Manners: Un-National Normative Justification for European Union Foreign Policy 4: Erik O. Eriksen: A State-Less Vanguard for a Rightful World Order Part II: Sovereignty and Constitutional Change 5: Neil Walker: Surface and Depth: The EU's Resilient Sovereignty Question 6: Mattias Kumm: How Does European Union Law Fit into the World of Public Law? Costa, Kadi, and Three Conceptions of Public Law 7: Michelle Everson: Politics, Power, and a European Law of Suspicion Part III: Democracy and Justice 8: Jürgen Neyer: Europe's Justice Deficit: Justification and Legitimacy in The European Union 9: Jan-Werner Müller: The Promise of 'Demoi-Cracy': Democracy, Diversity, and Domination in the European Public Order 10: Andreas Føllesdal: Non-State Oriented Political Theory: A Critical Assessment 11: Antje Wiener: Conclusion: Through Uncharted Waters of Constitutional Quality: Navigating Between Modern Statehood and International Organisation Bibliography