A New Narrative for a New Europe

According to the European Commission, Europe is facing a transversal crisis that obliges the rethinking and redefinition of its narrative. As a result of the economic crisis that has affected Europe during the past years, Europe has in turn faced a structural crisis that forces the reconsideration of its own existence. The foundation of the European project, the promises of Democracy and Human Dignity, need to be assessed. The internal crisis and global challenges require a paradigm shift to establish a new foundation upon which to keep those promises alive. This crisis is multidimensional: environmental, cultural, political, social, economic, etc. and the European Union should tackle it as such. The book aims at contributing to that debate by offering a new conceptual approach to the core ideas of European integration process (sovereignty, diversity, common challenges, etc). By doing so, the edited volume settles the ground for some institutional and legal transformations that may reflect this new narrative for a new Europe.

Table of Contents:
Preface / Bibliography / Introduction / 1. The European Union as a Complex Democracy, Daniel Innerarity/ 2. Constitutional Narratives and the Future of Europe, Alessandro Ferrara / 3. European Democracy and the No-Demos Thesis, José Luis Martí / 4. A Plural Europe: A Post-Teleological Narrative, Sergio Fabbrini / 5. Europe and European Studies in Crisis: Inter-Disciplinary and Intra-Disciplinary Schisms in Legal and Political Science, Christian Joerges and Christian Kreuder-Sonnen / 6. Which Narrative for the CJUE? EU Powers and Fundamental Rights, Maribel González Pascual / 7. The Struggle for Legitimacy Through Law in the EU, Jan Komárek / 8. The (Un)Constitutional Mutation of the European Union: The Structural Crisis of Law as a Means of Social and Economic Integration, Agustín José Menéndez / 9. Off Field? The EU’s Parliamentary Dimension Post-crisis, John Erik Fossum / 10. A New Uniform Electoral Procedure to Re-Legitimate the Process of Political Integration in Europe, Adriana Ciancio / 11. Europe as a Platform: A Reality and a Possible Future, Renaud Thillaye / Index

About the Author :
Daniel Innerarity is Professor of Social and Political Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country, Research Professor at the Basque Foundation for Science (IKERBASQUE) and Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (Globernance). Jonathan White is Professor of Politics at the European Institute, London School of Economics. Christina Astier is Researcher at Globernance – The Basque Institute for Democratic Governance (San Sebastián). Her research is mainly focused on global ethics, in particular global distributive justice, and the legitimacy of global governance institutions. Ander Errasti is Researcher at Globernance – The Basque Institute for Democratic Governance (San Sebastián).

Review :
This book provides a well-curated set of essays that are simultaneously honest in tackling hard choices and issues, academically rigorous, and yet fundamentally Europeanist. The authors take head-on difficult dilemmas and challenges posed by the European project, such as the conceptualization of supra-national democracy, the narratives against a European constitution, the inexistence of a European demos, the inevitability of further integration, or the recent para-constitutional developments. This book is thus an indispensable stepping stone to revitalize the European project. Groups are hold together by narratives: Who are we? Where are we headed? Our identity depends upon the functioning of these narratives. Europe knows such narratives, too. The European Union is meant to guarantee peace on the continent and has succeeded therein. The other part of its narrative’s promise is social justice and welfare. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, which left half of Italy and Spain’s youth unemployed, this narrative was more than challenged. Europe’s narrative is embodied in the Western narrative. But which West are we referring to? There are different approaches, yet all Westerners claim to be committed to a specific set of values. This book introduces not only the necessity to become aware of the need for a functioning narrative for Europe, but also suggests what such a narrative may look like.