EU Federalism and Constitutionalism

The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli

Edited by Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel - Contributions by Stefano Bartolini; Pier-Virgilio D'Astoli; Sergio Fabbrini; Jean-Marie Palayret; Paolo Ponzano and Bruno de Witte

EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli, edited by Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel, represents the first book-length study of the travails of the implementation of federalism at the European level from the perspective of Altiero Spinelli's ideas and his political life, which were both devoted to a federally united Europe. It is also a timely publication given the protracted struggle to implement a new EU institutional architecture—the 2009 Lisbon Treaty—that is already being tested by the fallout from the global financial crisis. This fallout has brought into stark relief the tensions within the EU over the question of enhancing solidarity and federal unity or remaining a looser association of sovereign states. Hence by examining the successes and failures of federalism within the EU system, the book seeks to explain not only how the EU has reached its current impasse but also how it may fare in the future. To achieve this objective, the book takes an interdisciplinary approach that covers all three dimensions of the European project: historical, legal, and political. In this fashion, Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel's EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli offers a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the history, evolution, and future of federal principles and institutions in the European integration process.

Lexington Books

Pages: 172 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-0-7391-3334-7 • Hardback • October 2010 • $121.00 • (£93.00)

978-0-7391-3336-1 • eBook • October 2010 • $115.00 • (£88.00)

Subjects: Political Science / International Relations / General, Political Science / American Government / State, Political Science / Constitutions

EU Federalism and Constitutionalism

The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli

Hardback

eBook

Summary

EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli, edited by Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel, represents the first book-length study of the travails of the implementation of federalism at the European level from the perspective of Altiero Spinelli's ideas and his political life, which were both devoted to a federally united Europe. It is also a timely publication given the protracted struggle to implement a new EU institutional architecture—the 2009 Lisbon Treaty—that is already being tested by the fallout from the global financial crisis. This fallout has brought into stark relief the tensions within the EU over the question of enhancing solidarity and federal unity or remaining a looser association of sovereign states. Hence by examining the successes and failures of federalism within the EU system, the book seeks to explain not only how the EU has reached its current impasse but also how it may fare in the future. To achieve this objective, the book takes an interdisciplinary approach that covers all three dimensions of the European project: historical, legal, and political. In this fashion, Andrew Glencross and Alexander H. Trechsel's EU Federalism and Constitutionalism: The Legacy of Altiero Spinelli offers a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the history, evolution, and future of federal principles and institutions in the European integration process.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 172 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-0-7391-3334-7 • Hardback • October 2010 • $121.00 • (£93.00)

978-0-7391-3336-1 • eBook • October 2010 • $115.00 • (£88.00)

Subjects: Political Science / International Relations / General, Political Science / American Government / State, Political Science / Constitutions

Author

Andrew Glencross is in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen. Alexander H. Trechsel is professor of political science and the first full-time holder of the Swiss chair in Federalism and Democracy at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
List of Tables
Introduction
Part One: The Constitutional Dimension
1. The "Spinelli Treaty" of February 1984: The Start of the Process of Constitutionalizing the European Union
2. Taking "Constitutionalism" and "Legitimacy" Seriously
Part Two: The Comparative Dimension
3. Revisiting Altiero Spinelli: Why to Look at the European Union through the American Experience
4. Altiero Spinelli and Idea of the US Constitution as a Model for Europe
Part Three: Political Actors and the Institutional Dimension
5. The Question of Treaty Architecture: From the "Spinelli Draft" to the Lisbon Treaty
6. François Mitterrand and the "Spinelli Treaty" of 1984: Support or Instrumentalization?
Conclusion: Altiero Spinelli and the Future of the European Union
Notes on Contributors

Reviews

Federalism has been a regular benchmark throughout the history of European integration: a goal for some, a threat for others. This timely volume, written by renowned experts, offers a first assessment of its influence on the institutional development of the EU. Definitely worth reading to understand how Europe might be moving ahead in the future.
— Renaud Dehousse, director of European Studies at the Paris Institute of Political Science

Consisting of a series of thought-provoking analyses by distinguished scholars, this volume situates Spinelli's thought and actions within both a comparative and contemporary framework. The complex tensions which inform the relationship between federalism, constitutionalism, and functionalism in the European Union are crisply delineated such that both scholars and practitioners will profit from viewing Spinelli's legacy anew.
— Alberta Sbragia, director of the European Union Center of Excellence at the University of Pittsburgh