Political Theory and the European Constitution (Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science)

In June 2003, the Convention on the Future of Europe released what may become the Constitution of the European Union. This timely volume provides one of the first critical assessments of the draft Constitution from the vantage point of political theory. The work combines detailed institutional analysis with normative political theory, bringing theoretical analysis to bear on the pressing issues of institutional design answered - or bypassed - by the draft Constitution. It addresses several themes that play out differently in federal arrangements than in unitary political orders: * European values, especially the legitimate role of alleged common values * liberty and powers - how does the draft Constitution address competing normative preferences? * the European interest: the noble words regarding common European objectives and values are often muddled or conflated, different actors intending quite different things. Several chapters contribute to clarifying the different senses of these terms.

Lynn Dobson is Lecturer in European and International Politics at the University of Edinburgh

Andreas Follesdal is Research Professor at ARENA - Advanced Research on the Europeanisation of the Nation-State - at the Research Council of Norway, and Professor at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo.