Constructivism, constitutionalism and EU’s area of freedom security and justice post-Lisbon

Publishers Abstract
This article addresses the fundamental conceptual challenges which face the development of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice ( AFSJ) in the post- Lisbon Treaty era.

It argues that Onuf-style constructivism is a valid lens with which to examine the development of the AFSJ to date, involving as it does the development of a shared understanding by practitioners, predominantly law enforcement and prosecution professionals, within the structures provided for them, in order to develop a completely new area of law and practice.

While this approach will continue to need to be deployed in the development of further new operational areas, such as cybercrime, a new approach is now required, that of constitutionalism. A variety of forms of constitutionalism are then examined in order to establish their suitability as a mode of analysis for these developments.

• Primary Source

Sweet and Maxwell: European Law Review http://www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/catalogue/productdetails.aspx?recordid=427&productid=6968

ESO: Background Information: Area of freedom, security and justice http://www.europeansources.info/record/area-of-freedom-security-and-justice/

ESO: Background Information: Security cooperation, counterterrorism, and EU–North Africa cross-border security relations, a legal perspective http://www.europeansources.info/record/security-cooperation-counterterrorism-and-eu-north-africa-cross-border-security-relations-a-legal-perspective/

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