Law and virtue in a post-sovereign “Commonwealth:” Neil MacCormick and the political theory of constitutional pluralism

2020 ◽  
pp. 175508822097581
Author(s):  
Hugo Canihac
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Liberal Theory ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constitutional Pluralism

This paper reconstructs the political thought of the Scottish legal philosopher, and eventually MEP, Sir Neil MacCormick (1941–2009), the founder of “constitutional pluralism,” one of the most influential legal theories of the European union today. It argues that his legal theory is underpinned by a coherent and original political theory of post-sovereignty. But, contrary to many current interpretations, this article argues that normatively, constitutional pluralism is not a purely liberal theory. Neither is it inherently illiberal, as has been contended. Instead, this article spells out the hybrid institutional design imagined by N. MacCormick and inspired by the thought of D. Hume, as well as the lineaments of an ethical theory of post-sovereignty he developed. So doing, while I will argue that it ultimately leads to a kind of republican cosmopolitanism, the political theory of constitutional pluralism is shown to open up an important, if not fully developed, avenue to escape some shortcoming commonly associated with post-sovereignty.

scholarly journals Is Constitutional Pluralism (Il)liberal? On the Political Theory of European Legal Integration in Times of Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-505
Author(s):  
Hugo Canihac
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
Liberal Theory ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legal Doctrine ◽  
The One ◽  
Constitutional Pluralism ◽  
Legal Integration ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis Article uncovers the normative political theory underlying the legal doctrine of constitutional pluralism, as it is used in the EU today. Constitutional pluralism, once described as a semi-official legal doctrine in the EU, is now being used by some member states to challenge its authority and rules. By reconstructing the political thought of one of its founders, N. MacCormick, this Article takes issue with two most common interpretations of constitutional pluralism: On the one hand, it has been claimed that the normative political content of constitutional pluralism is virtually identical, or at least compatible, with that of Kantian rights-based cosmopolitanism; on the other, it has been contended, especially with regard to its uses in Hungary and Poland, that it was an inherently dangerous, illiberal, normative theory. This Article offers to move away from current legal debates to go back to the origins of constitutional pluralism. It argues that constitutional pluralism is not a purely liberal theory indeed. But neither is it inherently illiberal. Rather, both liberal and illiberal readings are possible, but partial, interpretations of MacCormickian constitutional pluralism. A more systematic interpretation shows that constitutional pluralism opens a path to move beyond this somewhat archetypical divide.

Can federations expel member states? On the political theory of expulsion

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-67
Author(s):  
Eva Marlene Hausteiner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Political Order ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Feasibility Constraints ◽  
Voluntary Separation

When, if at all, can a federal political order expel a member state against its will? In political theory, expulsion has—unlike the scenario of secession as voluntary separation—so far received no systematic attention; an omission that is reinforced by the paucity of historical precedent. However, current debates around the potential disintegration of the European Union show that expulsion, as a theoretical and political possibility, deserves a more careful analysis. The article sets out to consider a route toward theorizing expulsion in systematic and realist terms. It outlines possible motivational constellations, feasibility constraints, legitimacy issues, as well as procedural dimensions. The resulting claim—that expulsion may be feasible in some circumstances but that its legitimacy is bound to remain contested—is applied to the case of the European Union.

The Thin Line between Failure and Success

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-241
Author(s):  
Sinikukka Saari
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Conflict Management ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Thin Line ◽  
Analytical Capability

Rather than attempt to change its decision-making procedures and aim at strengthened normativity, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (osce) should embrace its original purpose and design. This article argues that the Organisation is both competent and capable in conflict management. In particular in conflict management and resolution, the Organisation is both competent and capable in conflict management. As the case of alleged failure in Georgia demonstrates, the misses the osce had arrived not from the institutional design or decision-making procedures but rather from the weakness of its analytical capability and communication. Even if the osce Mission finished its work in Georgia in 2009, the organisation has continued to work on the conflict resolution on the local and on the political level, and it has succeeded in passing its expertise and knowledge to the European Union Monitoring Mission to Georgia.

scholarly journals Homenagem a Erasmo/Homenage to Erasmus

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 689-695
Author(s):  
Norberto Bobbio
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The University

 O texto consiste num discurso pronunciado por Norberto Bobbio em 29 de março de 1996 na Aula Magna da Universidade de Turim, por ocasião do desenvolvimento da Conferência Intergovernamental da União Europeia. Bobbio aborda o pensamento político e o irenismo erasmianos, baseados respectivamente numa concepção cristã de política e numa concepção ético-religiosa de pacifismo.Palavras-chave: Erasmo, irenismo, cristianismo, guerra, paz.   Abstract: This paper is a speech by Norberto Bobbio on March 29, 1996 in the Aula Magna of the University of Turin, on the development of the European Union Intergovernmental Conference. Bobbio addresses the political thought and Erasmians irenicism, respectively, based on a policy of Christian conception and a conception of ethical-religious pacifism.Keywords: Erasmus, irenicism, Christianity, war, peace 

Las funciones del interregionalismo en la relación UE-CAN

Oikos ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (29) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Olga María Cerqueira Torres
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Present Article ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Political Rationality ◽  
Article Analysis ◽  
Andean Community ◽  
The Eu

RESUMENEn el presente artículo el análisis se ha centrado en determinar cuáles de las funciones del interregionalismo, sistematizadas en los trabajos de Jürgen Rüland, han sido desarrolladas en la relación Unión Europea-Comunidad Andina de Naciones, ya que ello ha permitido evidenciar si el estado del proceso de integración de la CAN ha condicionado la racionalidad política del comportamiento de la Unión Europea hacia la región andina (civil power o soft imperialism); esto posibilitará establecer la viabilidad de la firma del Acuerdo de Asociación Unión Europea-Comunidad Andina de Naciones.Palabras clave: Unión Europea, Comunidad Andina, interregionalismo, funciones, acuerdo de asociación. Interregionalism functions in the EU-ANDEAN community relationsABSTRACTIn the present article analysis has focused on which functions of interregionalism, systematized by Jürgen Rüland, have been developed in the European Union-Andean Community birregional relation, that allowed demonstrate if the state of the integration process in the Andean Community has conditioned the political rationality of the European Union towards the Andean region (civil power or soft imperialism); with all these elements will be possible to establish the viability of the Association Agreement signature between the European Union and the Andean Community.Keywords: European Union, Andean Community, interregionalism, functions, association agreement.

An Ever Further Apart Union? National and European Attachments in the European Union

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey Raney
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
Political Identification ◽  
The Eu

This paper is about the ways that citizens perceive their place in the political world around them, through their political identities. Using a combination of comparative and quantitative methodologies, the study traces the pattern of citizens’ political identifications in the European Union and Canada between 1981 and 2003 and explains the mechanisms that shape these political identifications. The results of the paper show that in the EU and Canada identity formation is a process that involves the participation of both individuals and political institutions yet between the two, individuals play a greater role in identity construction than do political institutions. The paper argues that the main agents of political identification in the EU and Canada are citizens themselves: individuals choose their own political identifications, rather than acquiring identities that are pre-determined by historical or cultural precedence. The paper makes the case that this phenomenon is characteristic of a rise of ‘civic’ identities in the EU and Canada. In the European Union, this overarching ‘civic’ identity is in its infancy compared to Canada, yet, both reveal a new form of political identification when compared to the historical and enduring forms of cultural identities firmly entrenched in Europe. The rise of civic identities in both the EU and Canada is attributed to the active role that citizens play in their own identity constructions as they base their identifications on rational assessments of how well political institutions function, and whether their memberships in the community will benefit them, rather than on emotional factors rooted in religion or race. In the absence of strongly held emotional identifications, in the EU and Canada political institutions play a passive role in identity construction by making the community appear more entitative to its citizens. These findings offer new theoretical scope to the concept of civic communities and the political identities that underpin them. The most important finding presented in the paper is that although civic communities and identities are manufactured by institutions and political elites (politicians and bureaucrats), they require thinking citizens, not feeling ones, to be sustained.   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v2i4.179

A Union of Peoples

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavlos Eleftheriadis
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Domestic Institutions ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Rival Theory ◽  
Law Of Nations ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
The Eu

This book offers a legal and political theory of the European Union. Many political and legal philosophers compare the EU to a federal union. They believe that its basic laws should be subject to the standards of constitutional law. They thus find it lacking or incomplete. This book offers a rival theory. If one looks more closely at the treaties and the precedents of the European courts, one sees that the substance of EU law is international, not constitutional. Just like international law, it applies primarily to the relations between states. It binds domestic institutions directly only when the local constitutions allow it. The member states have democratically chosen to adapt their constitutional arrangements in order to share legislative and executive powers with their partners. The legal architecture of the European Union is thus best understood under a theory of dualism and not pluralism. According to this internationalist view, EU law is part of the law of nations and its distinction from domestic law is a matter of substance, not form. This arrangement is supported by a cosmopolitan theory of international justice, which we may call progressive internationalism. The EU is a union of democratic peoples, that freely organize their interdependence on the basis of principles of equality and reciprocity. Its central principles are not the principles of a constitution, but cosmopolitan principles of accountability, liberty, and fairness,

Entangling Plato: A Guide through the Political Theory Archive

2021 ◽  
pp. 009059172199807
Author(s):  
Liam Klein ◽  
Daniel Schillinger
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
The Political ◽  
Athenian Democracy

Political theorists have increasingly sought to place Plato in active dialogue with democracy ancient and modern by examining what S. Sara Monoson calls “Plato’s democratic entanglements.” More precisely, Monoson, J. Peter Euben, Arlene Saxonhouse, Christina Tarnopolsky, and Jill Frank approach Plato as both an immanent critic of the Athenian democracy and a searching theorist of self-governance. In this guide through the Political Theory archive, we explore “entanglement approaches” to the study of Plato, outlining their contribution to our understanding of Plato’s political thought and to the discipline of political theory.

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