The European Union and its order : the legal theory of European integration

Born of a series of research seminars, supported by the ESRC and the European Law Journal, this book tackles the most pressing issue raised by intensified European integration: the demise of sovereign states and the design of theoretical frameworks within which issues of post-national democracy and legal legitimacy might be considered.

Decoupling "law" from "state", the various contributions raise fundamental questions about the political legitimacy and constitutionality of the European Union's normative order, and begin to develop new structures for the meaningful evaluation of post-statal organization.

Still firmly rooted in a liberalized market, but now also concerned with far broader political and social issues, the EU has challenged the traditionally strict demarcation between law, political science and economics.

By bringing together all three disciplines to study the legal theory implications of the EU, this book offers its readers a novel methodology: analyzing the constitutionalization of the European legal order with an eye to "real-world" political and economic concerns.