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Europe’s Functional Constitution: A Theory of Constitutionalism Beyond the State (New Book Talk)

Monday, December 5, 2016 @ 6:15 pm8:15 pm

Constitutionalism has become a byword for legitimate government, but is it fated to lose its relevance as constitutional states relinquish power to international institutions? This book evaluates the extent to which constitutionalism, as an empirical idea and normative ideal, can be adapted to institutions beyond the state by surveying the sophisticated legal and political system of the European Union. Having originated in a series of agreements between states, the EU has acquired important constitutional features like judicial review, protections for individual rights, and a hierarchy of norms. Nonetheless, it confounds traditional models of constitutional rule to the extent that its claim to authority rests on the promise of economic prosperity and technocratic competence rather than on the democratic will of citizens. Critically appraising the European Union and its legal system, this book proposes the idea of ‘functional constitutionalism’ to describe this distinctive configuration of public power. Although the EU is the most advanced instance of functional constitutionalism to date, understanding this pragmatic mode of constitutional authority is essential for assessing contemporary international economic governance.

Participants

Author

Turkuler Isiksel, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science

Discussant

Nadia Urbinati, Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Professor of Political Theory and Hellenic Studies, Columbia University

Discussant

Katharina Pistor, Michael I. Sovern Professor of Law, Columbia Law School

Discussant

Mattias Kumm, Inge Rennert Professor of Law, New York University

Chair

Timothy Frye, Marshall D Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy, Columbia University

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Sponsors

Heyman Center for the Humanities

European Institute

Dean of Humanities, School of Arts and Sciences

Dean of Social Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences

Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy

Details

Date:
Monday, December 5, 2016
Time:
6:15 pm – 8:15 pm
Event Category:
Event Tags:
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Venue

Heyman Center for the Humanities
74 Morningside Dr
New York, NY 10027 United States
Phone
(212) 854-8443
View Venue Website