The essays in this book r ...

The essays in this book respond in different ways to questions regarding sovereignty, constitutionality and social solidarity in the European Union. A common theme in the book is a perception that the people and peoples of the European Union have drifted into a quagmire of political paralysis within which essential features of the paralysis – lack of constitutionality, lack of sovereignty and lack of social solidarity – feed off one another. Some of the essays put forward a more positive view. They associate the demise of sovereignty in Member States of the European Union with an emergence of new forms of democracy or new formations of political legitimacy in the complex structures of multi-level governance in the European Union. Between them, the essays provide the reader with a comprehensive study of the key issues of European politics and law today.

Investigates how the values of the rule of law, solidarity and democracy can be understood in the European Union in order ensure the sustainability of the European political order.

The Euro crisis catapulted the EU into its most serious political crisis since its inception, leaving it torn between opposing demands for more sovereignty and solidarity. This volume focuses on the key themes of disunion, sovereignty and solidarity. It assesses the main EU institutions: member states, civil society actors and policy areas.

Recent social and political developments in the EU have clearly shown the profound structural changes in European society and its politics. Reflecting on these developments and responding to the existing body of academic literature and scholarship, this book critically discusses the emerging notion of European constitutionalism, its varieties and different contextualization in theories of EU law, general jurisprudence, sociology of law, political theory and sociology. The contributors address different problems related to the relationship between the constitutional state and non-state constitutionalizations and critically analyze general theories of constitutional monism, dualism and pluralism and their juridical and political uses in the context of EU constitutionalism. Individual chapters emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary and socio-legal methods in the current research of EU constitutionalism and their potential to re-conceptualize and re-think traditional problems of constitutional subjects, limitation and separation of power, political symbolism and identity politics in Europe. This collection simultaneously describes the EU and its self-constitution as one polity, differentiated society and shared community and its contributors conceptualize the sense of common identity and solidarity in the context of the post-sovereign multitude of European society.

Introduction /Christian Lahusen and Veronica Federico --Denmark /Deniz Neriman Duru, Thomas Spejlborg Sejersen and Hans-Jörg Trenz --France /Manilo Cinalli, Carlo de Nuzzo --Germany /Ulrike Zschache --Greece /Maria M. Mexi --Italy /Veronica Federico and Nicola Maggini --Poland /Janina Petelczyc --Switzerland /Eva Fernández G.G. and Délia Girod --The United Kingdom /Tom Montgomery and Simone Baglioni --Solidarity in the European Union in times of crisis : towards "European solidarity"? /Ester di Napoli and Deborah Russo --Solidarity in times of crisis : disability, immigration and unemployment in Denmark /Deniz Neriman Duru, Thomas Spejlborg Sejersen and Hans-Jörg Trenz --Disability, unemployment, immigraiton : does solidarity matter in times of crisis in France? /Manilo Cinalli, Carlo de Nuzzo --Disability, unemployment, immigration : the implicit role of solidarity in German legislation /Ulrike Zschache --Greece in times of multiple crises : solidarity under stress? /Maria M. Mexi --Disability, unemployment, immigration : does solidarity matter at times of crisis in Italy? /Veronica Federico and Nicola Maggini --Disability, unemployment, immigration : does solidarity matter in times of crisis? : the Polish case /Janina Petelczyc --Switzerland : vulnerable groups and multiple solidarities in a composite state /Eva Fernández G.G. and Tania Abbiate --Solidarity in austerity Britain : the cases of disability, unemployment and migration /Tony Montgomery and Simone Baglioni --Conclusion:Solidarity as a public virture? /Veronica Federico.

"Recent social and political developments in the EU have clearly shown the profound structural changes in European society and its politics. Reflecting on these developments and responding to the existing body of academic literature and scholarship, this book critically discusses the emerging notion of European constitutionalism, its varieties and different contextualization in theories of EU law, general jurisprudence, sociology of law, political theory and sociology. The contributors address different problems related to the relationship between the constitutional state and non-state constitutionalizations and critically analyze general theories of constitutional monism, dualism and pluralism and their juridical and political uses in the context of EU constitutionalism. Individual chapters emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary and socio-legal methods in the current research of EU constitutionalism and their potential to re-conceptualize and re-think traditional problems of constitutional subjects, limitation and separation of power, political symbolism and identity politics in Europe. This collection simultaneously describes the EU and its self-constitution as one polity, differentiated society and shared community and its contributors conceptualize the sense of common identity and solidarity in the context of the post-sovereign multitude of European society." -- Back cover.

The EU claims that solidarity is a fundamental value underlying the European social model, yet it often stands accused of undermining solidarity by advancing market freedoms. This book provides the first extended study of the idea of solidarity in the EU context from interdisciplinary perspectives - analysing its impact on law and policy.