1st Edition
Mechanisms of European Integration The Force of Reasons
This book posits the possibility of a reasons-based account of the European integration process.
The book pursues the force of public reason in getting to agreement beyond the nation state and spells out the fundamentals of the European integration process, theorizing the mechanisms that brought the European Union (EU) into existence. The book combines insights from social and political theory, law, and political science in setting out a novel theory of European integration and reconstructing the normative foundation of the EU. It goes on to establish the problem of arbitrary rule (dominance) created by political differentiation, examines the place of democracy in the multilevel constellation that makes up the EU, and proposes a set of democratic reforms.
This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of EU studies, European integration, democracy, and international political theory/philosophy.
Part 1: Squaring the circle on rationality and acceptability
1. Introduction: The rationality/acceptability gap
2. The right-making force of public reason
3. Rational irrationality: On bargaining and arguing
4. Deliberative inquiry as an evolving discussion
5. Rational acceptability and its limitations
6. Deliberative decision-making
7. Claims-making, justification, and learning
Part 2: European integration: Autonomy and heteronomy
8. European integration: the force of democracy
9. The European parliament puzzle: from disagreement to agreement
10. Differentiation, segmentation, and the spectre of dominance
11. Habermas versus Habermas on European democracy
12. Regional cosmopolitanism and hierarchical self-intervention
Postscript
Biography
Erik O. Eriksen is a Professor of Political Science and former Director of ARENA at the University of Oslo, Norway.
“This book demonstrates how political theory can help us comprehend and improve the European project. It is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of the old continent”.
Jan Zielonka, University of Venice, Ca Foscari, Italy.
"In an unruly world, this book sets out a much-needed and compelling vision of how our democracies remain governed by reason and how reason adapts in the face of the major challenges of power, identity, and deep disagreement. As a critical case, Eriksen offers an alternative explanation of European integration – one that is not immune to setbacks but is in the end confident about its progressive vocation. This is a book that recognizes the major political challenges of our era but that also reinforces the confidence and the capacities of democracies to address them".
Ben Crum, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
