Democracy and federalism in the European Union and the United States. Exploring post-national governance

Abstract:

This work examines the institutional structures and decision-making procedures of the US and the EU and considers whether or not the US experience of democratic government offers opportunities to better understand the logic of the system of democratic government established in the EU.

The book is organised in four parts. Part one examines the development of the EU and the implications of the process of European federalisation, including chapters relating to European federalism, the EU constitution, and the emergence of the EU as a supranational polity. Part two explores the American experience and the development of federalism via the intellectual debate leading to approval of the American federal constitution. Chapters dealing with territory, electorates and markets in the US, and citizenship in the US are featured. Part three explores the relations between state, market and social rights in both polities. Chapters cover areas such as building a market without a state, searching for legitimacy between economic and social Europe and whether or not social capitalism is exportable. The fourth part looks at the future of the European Union, exploring ideas about the problems of post national democracy and the constitutional fate of its development, and the prospect of international democracy.

The work will interest scholars and students engaged in the fields of European politics, American politics, federalism and comparative politics.

Sergio Fabbrini is Professor of Political Science and Director of the PhD Programme in International Studies at the University of Trento, Italy.