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- ISBN: 9780199587308 | 0199587302
- Cover: Hardcover
- Copyright: 12/30/2010
This book was borne out of the perceived theoretical deficit which evolved alongside the dispersion of integration studies into two strands that increasingly seemed to lose touch with one another. A political science and comparative government oriented strand studied the European Union (EU) predominantly as a political system in its own right. In turn, the International Relations strand kept working with the EU as another international organisation. All the whilethe development of constitutional quality of this non-state polity progressed. The debate about the 'Constitutional Treaty' raised the yardstick of theoretical discussion and challenged the 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 in 2004 and the cumbersome procedure of ratifying the Lisbon Treaty in their aftermath, notably, debates about the EU's constitutional quality did not cease. At the same time, the lawyers had been engaging more directly in debates that were crossing sub-disciplinary lines. In light of these changes, the editors felt that it was about time to work on a more decisively interdisciplinary theoretical approach to studying the EU within thewider world political context. The result is A Political Theory of the European Union which brings together Political Theory, International Relations Theory, European Integration Studies, Comparative Government, International Law as well as European Law. It does not aim to be a complete theory.Rather, it is a theoretical approach or, even more modestly, an effort to prove the analytical strength of combining different stands of political and legal theory. Thus, the book's purpose would be fully served if the approach were to inspire others to engage with the central tenets of political authority and world order, sovereignty and constitutional change and democracy and justice, taking the approach in-the-making further.