Massimo Fichera - Böcker

European integration is an open-ended, ongoing process which has been deeply challenged by integral world capitalism. This study explores the present EU foundational dilemma, looking at the problematic relationship between the ideal model of integration and the reality of the 21st century. Including contributions from leading theorists, this volume explores the ways and extent to which the present European crisis could create a politico-legal space for new possibilities and opportunities for action. The authors discuss the current role of the EU, and whether it aspires to be a democratic polity or a functional organization based on inter-governmental bargaining. The chapters question whether the future of European integration after the crisis will be paved by decisions which conflict with its Treaty basis, and how it might come up with alternatives which would do more than echo the compulsions of the global market. Issues are analysed from a historical perspective to see what can be learnt from its past and to explore the options for the future. With contributions from prominent international legal and political scholars, the book will be of interest to academics, students and policy-makers working in these areas.

European integration is an open-ended, ongoing process which has been deeply challenged by integral world capitalism. This study explores the present EU foundational dilemma, looking at the problematic relationship between the ideal model of integration and the reality of the 21st century. Including contributions from leading theorists, this volume explores the ways and extent to which the present European crisis could create a politico-legal space for new possibilities and opportunities for action. The authors discuss the current role of the EU, and whether it aspires to be a democratic polity or a functional organization based on inter-governmental bargaining. The chapters question whether the future of European integration after the crisis will be paved by decisions which conflict with its Treaty basis, and how it might come up with alternatives which would do more than echo the compulsions of the global market. Issues are analysed from a historical perspective to see what can be learnt from its past and to explore the options for the future. With contributions from prominent international legal and political scholars, the book will be of interest to academics, students and policy-makers working in these areas.

This collection of essays is divided in two parts. In the first part, security is considered from a theoretical angle, as a phenomenon that has become an integral part of modern society and inevitably interacts with law in many ways. The aim of the authors' analyses is to emphasise the ambiguity of the notion of security and its tendency to expand and affect simultaneously different fields of law. Depending on the adopted approach, security can be understood in many different terms and through various concepts: inter alia through exceptionality, from a constructivist viewpoint, or as human security. Whereas for example, an 'existential' approach takes risk and danger as a fact of life and is based on the assumption of the fragility of the human condition, leading to traditional and military understandings of security, a constructivist approach regards security as a discursive speech act enabling criticism of security claims. Analysing security in connection with law highlights both tensions and contradictions.From classical analyses on states of emergency to new conceptualizations of security as a specific dimension within the process of European integration ('the European Security Constitution'), legal approaches to security and law today are facing many paradoxes and challenges. The second part of the book considers some of these security dilemmas in two specific areas of law: human rights and criminal law. Here, the authors address the militarisation of the fight against terrorism, the distinction between administrative and penal sanctions, the limits of intelligence activities and the scope of criminalisation. As the book brings together scholars from different fields of law focusing on law and security from particular perspectives it is appealing to those constitutional, criminal, international and EU lawyers who are interested in both theoretical and practical aspects of the relationship between security and law.

In this insightful book, Massimo Fichera provides an original account of European integration as a process -– completed by the creation of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. The study builds upon a demonstration of how European constitutionalism has been informed by a meta-rationale, which is expressed by security and fundamental rights as discourses of power.The book uses this conceptual framework to analyse the development of the EU as a polity. Chapters cover significant recent crises, including the Eurozone, refugees, the rule of law, Brexit, and constitutional identity. These events are not only recognized as being political shocks, but more meaningful and long lasting occurrences which have had, and will continue to have, a deep impact on the development of the EU as a legal and political system. In light of this, the variety of crises that have recently affected the EU are discussed with thought given to their impact as an interlinking whole.Adeptly combining both theoretical and doctrinal analysis, this book will appeal to students and scholars of both EU law and politics as well as those interested in legal and political theory more widely. Government officials, policy makers and practitioners will also find this a stimulating read.

This insightful book examines the inherent fragility of modern liberal constitutionalism and shows how it is in the nature of every constitutional community, including the European Union, to try to protract its own duration as much as possible. The book considers the strengths, weaknesses, tensions, and contradictions of European constitutionalism using the lens of constitutional time. The author’s claim is that duration should not be sought just for its own sake: an internal link between constitutionalism and democracy should be ensured. He suggests two options to achieve this objective. The first centres on decision-making at the subnational or local level and by intermediate bodies, including cities and regions as well as political parties and private bodies. The second focuses on the promotion of socio-economic rights and welfare standards. Through these debates a theory of 'communal constitutionalism' is proposed – placing emphasis on the role of future generations. Combining temporal and reflexive dimensions it addresses the questions of how to be 'secure' and what it means for the EU polity to be 'secure'. This expertly crafted book will be essential reading for students and scholars of constitutional and administrative law, European law, and legal theory. It will also be of interest to political scientists looking at European constitutionalism and sociologists interested in the development of law beyond the State.