Robert Schütze - Böcker

Foreign affairs are 'border' affairs - in a geographical and a constitutional sense. They are traditionally subject to distinct constitutional principles, for the political questions posed might not be susceptible to legal answers. And yet, in our globalized world, the orthodox distinction between 'internal' and 'external' affairs has lost much of its clarity. The contemporary world is an international world - a world of collective trade agreements and collective security systems. The European Union - as a union of States - embodies this collective spirit on a regional international scale. But what is the relationship between this new European legal order and the old legal order of international law? When can the Union act on the international scene and, if so, how? Foreign Affairs and the EU Constitution brings together a collection of outstanding essays on external relations written by one of the leading constitutional scholars of the European Union.

What is the purpose of comparative constitutional law? Comparing constitutions allows us to consider the similarities and differences in forms of government, and the normative philosophies behind constitutional choices. Constitutional comparisons offer 'hermeneutic' help: they enable us to see 'our' own constitution with different eyes and to locate its structural and normative choices by references to alternatives evident in other constitutional orders. This Cambridge Companion presents readers with a succinct yet wide-ranging companion to a modern comparative constitutional law course, offering a wide-ranging yet concise introduction to the subject. Its twenty-two chapters are arranged into five thematic parts: starting with an exploration of the 'theoretical foundations' (Part I) and some important 'historical experiences' (Part II), it moves on to a discussion of the core 'constitutional principles' (Part III) and 'state institutions' (Part IV); finally it analyses forms of 'transnational' constitutionalism (Part V) that have emerged in our 'global' times.

While it might have been viable for states to isolate themselves from international politics in the nineteenth century, the intensity of economic and social globalisation in the twenty-first century has made this impossible. The contemporary world is an international world - a world of collective security systems and collective trade agreements. What does this mean for the sovereign state and 'its' international legal order? Two alternative approaches to the problem of 'governance' in the era of globalisation have developed in the twentieth century: universal internationalism and regional supranationalism. The first approaches collective action problems from the perspective of the 'sovereign equality' of all States. A second approach to transnational 'governance' has tried to re-build majoritarian governmental structures at the regional scale. This collection of essays wishes to analyse - and contrast - the two types of normative and decisional answers that have emerged as responses to the 'international' problems within our globalised world.

Foreign affairs are 'border' affairs - in a geographical and a constitutional sense. They are traditionally subject to distinct constitutional principles, for the political questions posed might not be susceptible to legal answers. And yet, in our globalized world, the orthodox distinction between 'internal' and 'external' affairs has lost much of its clarity. The contemporary world is an international world - a world of collective trade agreements and collective security systems. The European Union - as a union of States - embodies this collective spirit on a regional international scale. But what is the relationship between this new European legal order and the old legal order of international law? When can the Union act on the international scene and, if so, how? Foreign Affairs and the EU Constitution brings together a collection of outstanding essays on external relations written by one of the leading constitutional scholars of the European Union.