European Union in Search of a Democratic and Constitutional Theory

European integration confronts us with the limits of current constitutional and democratic language. The way out of this impasse will only appear through a refinement of what we consider the European Union to be as a political entity and of our concepts of democracy.

In this challenging and thoughtful new book Dr Verhoeven offers a crystal-clear synthesis and analysis of the current state of the European Union as a constitutional project. While she recognizes the continuity of this project with social contract theory and the federal ideal - and uncovers the specific aspects of democracy and constitutionalism the EU has already embraced - she shows how the terms and presuppositions of those persistent conceptual frameworks must be fundamentally revised. At the root of these necessary revisions lies the irreversible onset of multiculturalism and globalisation, twin challenges that force us to reconsider issues of sovereignty and self-governance.

Dr Verhoeven does not neglect the much-debated issues at the centre of her topic. Her analysis extends to such critiques as the view of the European constitution as a Court-led process of vertical integration, the meaning of EU citizenship, variability in EU decision-making procedures, the concept of institutional balance, territorial differences in the application of EU law, the whole area of delegated rule-making and the relationship between the European and national legal orders.

As a thorough investigation of how democracy and constitutionalism can be reconceptualised in order to meet the challenge of European integration, The European Union in Search of a Democratic and Constitutional Theory will greatly reward the attention of lawyers, policymakers, and scholars in the field.