Constructivist approaches to the study of Europe are trendy. Deliberation, discourses, norms, persuasion, socialization, identity, arguing – such concepts and terms are now frequently invoked in debates over the past and future of the European project. As I argue in this essay, however,...

What is the explanatory potential of deliberative democracy? This paper analyses collective decision-making in a political context with reference to warrants , which explain the conversion from premises to conclusion and with reference to the deontological powers of status functions . The first...

What is the explanatory potential of deliberative democracy? This paper analyses collective decision-making in a political context with reference to warrants , which explain the conversion from premises to conclusion and with reference to the deontological powers of status functions . The first...

The attempt to pin down the constitutive elements of the European public sphere is typically marked by ambivalence between normative and descriptive elements. In normative terms, the European public sphere is identified through the standards which should be used to assess the legitimacy of...

The spreading phenomenon of Euroscepticism relates to particular discursive formations within the battlefield of collective identities that is opened by European integration. This paper first aims to highlight the reactionary nature of Euroscepticism. Secondly, it argues for understanding...

Jon Elster has a clear view of the role of norms and impartiality in collective decision making processes, but does not ascribe to them the power to explain action. Hence, the paradox: If it is only public reasons that can justify outcomes, how can private desires be the causes of the same...