Born of a series of research seminars, supported by the ESRC and the European Law Journal, this book tackles the most pressing issue raised by intensified European integration: the demise of sovereign states and the design of theoretical frameworks within which issues of post--national democracy and legal legitimacy might be considered.

Preface (Zenon Bankowski and Andrew Scott). 1. Law Without a State? On Representing the Common Market (Hans Lindahl and Bert van Roermund). 2. The European Union as an Essentially Contested Project (Zenon Bankowski and Emilios Christodoulidis). 3. Sovereignty and Differentiated Integration in the European Union (Neil Walker). 4. The Problem of Membership in European Union Citizenship (Jo Shaw). 5. Beyond the Bundesverfassungsgericht: On the Necessary Cunning of Constitutional Reasoning (Michelle Everson). 6. Does the European Union Pervert Democracy? Questions of Democracy in New Constitutional Thought on the Future. 7. Legitimacy and Governance Beyond the European Nation State: Conceptualising Governance in the European Union (Caitriona Carter and Andrew Scott). 8. The Limits of European Union Citizenship (Carole Lyons). 9. Democracy, Sovereignty and the Constitution of the Europe Union: The Republican Alternative to Liberalism (Richard Bellamy and Dario Castiglione). 10. Identity and Democracy in the New Europe (Ian Ward). Index

Born of a series of research seminars, supported by the ESRC and the European Law Journal, this book tackles the most pressing issue raised by intensified European integration: the demise of sovereign states and the design of theoretical frameworks within which issues of post-national democracy and legal legitimacy might be considered. Decoupling "law" from "state", the various contributions raise fundamental questions about the political legitimacy and constitutionality of the European Union’s normative order, and begin to develop new structures for the meaningful evaluation of the post-statal organization. Still firmly rooted in a liberalized market, but now also concerned with far broader political and social issues, the EU has challenged the traditionally strict demarcation between law, political science and economics. By bringing together all three disciplines to study the legal theory implications of the EU, this book offers its readers a novel methodology: analyzing the constitutionalization of the European legal order with an eye to "real-world" political and economic concerns.

1. The European Union as an Essentially Contested Concept: Zenon Bankowski and Emilios Christodoulidis (Centre for Law and Society, Edinburgh University). 2. Sovereignty And Differentiated Integration In the EU: Neil Walker (Aberdeen University). 3. Beyond the Bundesverfassungsgericht: Constutionalising European Law? Michelle Everson (European University Institute, Florence). 4. Democracy and Constitutionalism in the European Community: Daniel Wincott (University of Birmingham). 5. The 'Europeanisation' of the European Union: A Critique: Catriona Carter and Andrew Scott (Europa Institute, Edinburgh University). 6. A Republic If You Can Keep It: The Democratic Deficit and the Constitution of Europe: Richard Bellamy (University of Reading) and Dario Castiglione (University of Exeter). 7. Identity and Democracy in the New Europe: Ian Ward (University of Dundee). 8. Workable Competition, or How to Represent a Common Market: Hans Lindahl and Bert van Roermund (University of Tilburg). 9. Applied Constitutionalism in the European Union: A Case Study in the Evaluation of the Immigration and Asylum Policies of the EU: Carole Lyons (University of Aberdeen). 10. Membership and Citizenship: Jo Shaw (University of Leeds).