Republican Europe

Constitutional orders constitute political communities - and international orders deriving from them - by managing conflicts that threaten peace. This book explores how a European political community can be advanced through EU constitutional law. The constitutional role of the Union is to ensure peace by addressing two types of conflict. The first are static conflicts of interests between the national polities in the EU. These are avoided by ensuring reciprocal non-interference between Member States in the Union through deregulation in Union law. The second are dynamic conflicts of ideas about positive liberty held by the peoples of Europe. These can be resolved through regulation in a European political space. Here, EU law enables a continuous process of re-negotiating a shared European idea of positive liberty that can be accepted as its own by each national polity in the EU. These solutions to the two types of conflicts correspond to the liberal and republican models for Europe. The claim of this book is that the constitutional design of Europe presents both liberal and republican features. Taking an innovative approach, which draws on arguments from substantive law, constitutional theory, case law analysis, insights from psychology and philosophy, it identifies how best to strengthen the Union through constitutional law.

Auteur

Anna Kocharov is a researcher at the European University Institute, Florence

Résumé
Constitutional orders constitute political communities and international orders deriving from them by managing conflicts that threaten peace. This book explores how a European political community can be advanced through EU constitutional law. The constitutional role of the Union is to ensure peace by addressing two types of conflict. The first are static conflicts of interests between the national polities in the EU. These are avoided by ensuring reciprocal non-interference between Member States in the Union through deregulation in Union law. The second are dynamic conflicts of ideas about positive liberty held by the peoples of Europe. These can be resolved through regulation in a European political space. Here, EU law enables a continuous process of re-negotiating a shared European idea of positive liberty that can be accepted as its own by each national polity in the EU. These solutions to the two types of conflicts correspond to the liberal and republican models for Europe. The claim of this book is that the constitutional design of Europe presents both liberal and republican features. Taking an innovative approach, which draws on arguments from substantive law, constitutional theory, case law analysis, insights from psychology and philosophy, it identifies how best to strengthen the Union through constitutional law.

Contenu

Introduction

1. Europe in Crises
2. Policy Choices and Constitutional Choices
3. What's In a Policy?
4. Argument Overview
   
   1. Liberty in the Constitutional Construct of Europe
5. The Constitutional Soul of Europe
6. Legitimacy of the Union and the Paradox of Polity
7. Capturing the Paradox: Voice, Exit and Loyalty
8. The Three Aspects of Liberty
9. Europe's Love Triangle
10. Europe as a Liberty-Preserving Construct
11. Constitutive Elements of EU Constitutional Order
    
    2. A Union of Polities: Negative Liberty
12. The Nature of Europe's Union: Non-Interference Between National Polities
13. Non-Interference vs Positive Liberty in EC External Agreements
14. The Boundaries of Europe's Union: Reciprocity of Commitment
15. Constitutional Dilemma of Internal over External
16. Non-Interference between Member States Prevails over External Positive Liberty
17. The Rights-Admission Dichotomy to Balance Negative and Positive Liberty
18. Integration Through Law or Integration Through Politics?
    
    3. A Political Union: Positive Liberty
19. A New Solution for an Old Problem
20. Emancipation of Politics and the European Political Space
21. Emergence of a European Political Process
22. Constitutional Elements of Post-Lisbon Law
23. Pluralism Under Union Law
    
    4. Conflict in Union Law
24. Conflict as the Object of Union Law
25. Legitimacy of Policy Choices
26. Deciding Who Decides (in) Union Law
27. Demise of the Vertical Balance of Powers
28. From Balance of Powers to Balance of Polities
    
    5. The EU Court and Liberty from Dependence
29. The Triumph of Positive Liberty
30. Liberal Review of a Republican Policy
31. Domination of Mutual Trust and the Faux Virtue of Solidarity
32. The Invisible Liberty
    
    6. Conclusion: Union Law as the Pacifier of Conflicts