This paper presents an argument in favour of developing a multiculturalism policy for the EU, by reference to the potential role which could be played by the Charter of Fundamental Rights in this respect. The provisions on education and culture in the Charter are analysed, with a view to...

This paper makes the case for democratising Europe’s ‘political constitution’ from a republican perspective. Such a ‘constitution’ refers to the norms, principles and procedures of institutionalised governance that constitute the political foundation of the European Union (EU)....

The paper uses the ‘political opportunity structure’ model to show how suicide missions andpolitical violence are legitimized by militant groups to their constituency, and how constituencycan act as one of the constraints on the militant group. Militant groups in situations of...

The purpose of this article is to shed light on the relation between large and small member states with regard to the majority principle. Since Maastricht at the latest the institutional discussion centers around the question of how to devise a decision system which pays equal attention to the...

Cases for civil damages that have been brought before Western courts by victims of torture and persecution against states officials or corporations, challenge the principles of state sovereignty and jurisdictional competence. While national courts can in cases of serious crimes hear cases that...

This paper pursues two objectives, one theoretical the other empirical. First, by keeping separate two grand strands in the EU studies literature, one on the design and reform of EU institutions and the other on the EU’s ‘democratic deficit’, EU scholars are foreclosing the opportunity to...

This paper examines the politicization of European integration. We begin by asking how neofunctionalism and its precursor, functionalism, conceive the politics of regional integration. Then we turn to the evidence of the past two decades and ask how politicization has, in fact, shaped the level,...

The authors discuss potential sources of legitimacy of the EU, i. e. of the normative bindingness of its decisions. After rejecting the views that such legitimacy is either not needed, not feasible, or provided for already, they focus upon the corrosive impact of the EU upon democratic...

Communicative action now commonly takes place in electronically mediated global networks and the networks are a powerful form of social ordering. This article analyzes the different forms of power that operate in communicative networks and how these alter communicative action. It suggests that...