Legitimising a European Constitution

Dr. Tor-Inge Harbo

doi:10.5771/9783845202778

Summary

The discontent with the European Union expressed in the referenda over the Maastricht Treaty in the beginning of the 1990s and more recently enunciated through the French and Dutch rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty has widely been perceived as being a consequence of the Union"s legitimacy deficit. There might be different reasons for this deficit. Whereas some argue that it is rooted in a lack of Humean legitimacy, i.e. a lack of utilitarian problem-solving capacity (output legitimacy), others hold that it is a consequence of the lack of Lockean legitimacy or popular consent or approval of the Union, i.e. a lack of democratic legitimacy (input legitimacy). It is the aim of this book to introduce a democratic model that bridges these two sources of legitimacy and which, bearing in mind the unique institutional, legal and societal qualities of the European Union, could provide a solid basis of legitimacy of the European Union in general and the European Constitutional Treaty in particular.

Dr. Tor-Inge Harbo holds a Norwegian law degree and a MA in European Studies. His PhD thesis was written under the supervision of Professor Dr. iur. Ulrich K. Preuss at the Free University of Berlin, Otto Suhr Institute of Political Studies, Department Legal Bases of Politics. He is currently working as a lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2007
ISBN-Print: 978-3-8329-2702-8
ISBN-Online: 978-3-8452-0277-8
Publisher: Nomos, Baden-Baden
Language: English
Pages: 290
Product type: Book Titles

Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis No access Pages 2 - 12
List of Abbreviations No access Pages 13 - 14
Introduction No access Pages 15 - 20
1. 1. Introduction No access Pages 21 - 25
  2. 1. Collectivism (equality) No access
    2. Individualism (liberty) No access
    3. Justice (liberty and equality) No access
  3. 1. Retrenchment No access
    2. Intervention No access
  4. Conclusion No access Pages 50 - 52
2. 1. Introduction No access Pages 52 - 53
  2. Classical participatory democracy No access Pages 53 - 55
  3. 1. Institutional representation (bound or unbound) No access
    2. 1. Lobbying No access
      2. Liberal corporatism and consociationalism No access
  4. 1. Majoritarianism No access
    2. Associative and deliberative democracy No access
    3. Modern participatory democracy No access
    4. Direct democracy No access
  5. Conclusion No access Pages 75 - 77
3. 1. Introduction No access Pages 77 - 78
  2. 1. Homo politicus (citoyens) and homo oeconomicus (bourgeois) No access
    2. The liberal individualistic approach No access
    3. The deliberative collective approach No access
  3. 1. 1. Relative majority rule – minority rule No access
      2. Intensities No access
      3. Logrolling No access
    2. 1. Consociational democracy No access
      2. Deliberative democracy No access
  4. Conclusion No access Pages 98 - 100
1. 1. Introduction No access Pages 101 - 104
  2. 1. The origin of the federal idea No access
    2. Federalism and democracy No access
  3. 1. Federal polity/federal political systems No access
    2. Confederation (Staatenbund) No access
    3. Federal state (Bundesstaat) No access
    4. Federation (Bund) No access
  4. 1. Federalism in theory No access
    2. Federalism in practice No access
  5. Conclusion No access Pages 128 - 130
2. 1. Introduction No access Pages 130 - 131
  2. Treaty (subjects, making, revision, termination, arbitration) No access Pages 131 - 134
  3. 1. 1. Republican pouvoir constituant No access
      2. Liberal pouvoir constituant No access
    2. 1. Republican (political) constitutionalism No access
      2. Liberal (legal) constitutionalism No access
    3. 1. Liberal and republican constitutions No access
      2. A dual concept of constitutionalism No access
    4. Constitutional review No access
  4. Constitutional Treaty No access Pages 150 - 152
  5. 1. Constitutionalisation of the EC Treaties No access
    2. A European pouvoir constituant No access
    3. Judicial review No access
    4. What kind of Constitutional Treaty? No access
  6. Conclusion No access Pages 164 - 166
3. 1. Introduction No access Pages 166 - 167
  2. 1. 1. French nation No access
      2. German Volk No access
      3. The French nation and the German Volk as demos No access
    2. 1. American constitutional patriotism No access
      2. Swiss citizenship No access
  3. 1. A homogeneous concept of a European demos No access
    2. A plural concept of a European demos No access
  4. Conclusion No access Pages 190 - 192
1. 1. Introduction No access Pages 193 - 196
  2. 1. The sovereignist/intergovernmentalist approach No access
    2. The Federalist approach No access
  3. 1. 1. Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) No access
      2. Cohesion policy No access
    2. 1. Harmonisation of social policies No access
      2. Harmonisation of taxes and wages No access
    3. 1. Externalities No access
      2. A question of legitimacy No access
    4. 1. Welfare regimes remain national states No access
      2. A reform of redistribution policies No access
  4. Conclusion No access Pages 221 - 222
2. 1. Introduction No access Pages 222 - 223
  2. 1. 1. The European Parliament No access
      2. The (European) Council No access
      3. The Commission No access
      4. Balance of powers No access
    2. Representation/Participation on regional level No access
  3. 1. Corporatism No access
    2. Lobbying No access
  4. Direct democracy No access Pages 243 - 246
  5. Conclusion No access Pages 246 - 247
3. 1. Introduction No access Pages 247 - 248
  2. 1. From neo-functionalism ... No access
    2. ... to intergovernmentalism No access
  3. 1. Liberal intergovernmentalism No access
    2. 1. Low politics: Comitology No access
      2. High politics: Convention No access
  4. 1. Majority rule No access
    2. Non-majority rule No access
    3. Efficient decision-making No access
  5. Conclusion No access Pages 269 - 270
Conclusions No access Pages 271 - 275
Reference List No access Pages 276 - 290