Articles for author: Christian Joerges

Justice within and between Polities

My account on Europe's justice deficit will depart from a tension inherent to the project, and I will submit three groups of observations: The first one will deal with what we have experienced about the nature of “the economic”; with the use of this notion, I wish to insinuate an analogy to what we associate with “the social”; namely, the social embeddedness of the economy. The following observations are concerned with the distinction between justice within consolidated polities and justice between such polities. The third part of my story will ask, first, whether a synthesis of both concerns, i.e., of domestic and inter-European justice, is conceivable in principle - and then whether it is still available. After the crisis, this is the 1 million dollar question: How can the European project get back on track, regain legitimacy, rise from its ruins?

10. Juni 2015

EU Commission President: Who and what did we actually vote for?

The obstacles further European integration is facing will only be overcome incrementally through continuous political disputes, as well as through processes of collective learning, which are then converted into institutional change. Simple formulas for “more Europe”, even when they are rooted in historical rationality and reason, will not be a sufficient substitute for such processes.

3. Juli 2014

Where the Law Ends

„Die Wirtschaft ist das Schicksal“ (the economy is our destiny) – this insight of Walter Rathenau, politician and industrialist, the white hope of the young Weimar Republic, murdered in 1922, is of disquieting topicality. For more than a decade, we have witnessed a veritable boom of European constitutionalism which sought to pave the way towards an ever closer and ever more democratic Union. These debates were intense. They were nevertheless characterised by a benign neglect of the constitutional dimensions of „the economic“ and the failure to comprehend its political functions. There are, of course, exceptions. The authors of the „constitutional ... continue reading

12. April 2014

Where the Law Ends

“Die Wirtschaft ist das Schicksal” (the economy is our destiny) – this insight of Walter Rathenau, politician and industrialist, the white hope of the young Weimar Republic, murdered in 1922, is of disquieting topicality. For more than a decade, we have witnessed a veritable boom of European constitutionalism which sought to pave the way towards an ever closer and ever more democratic Union. These debates were intense. They were nevertheless characterised by a benign neglect of the constitutional dimensions of “the economic” and the failure to comprehend its political functions. There are, of course, exceptions. The authors of the “constitutional ... continue reading

12. April 2014

„Ernstnehmen des Anderen. Und zwar als Rechtsgebot! Darum geht es in Europa“

Wenn Sie an Europa 2023 denken, welche Veränderungen fallen Ihnen da am stärksten ins Auge? Man kann da nur in Szenarien denken. Das Wahrscheinlichste ist, dass Europa durch lauter Gewurstele und Geschachere Stück für Stück seine demokratischen Perspektiven verliert und immer mehr zu einer Veranstaltung wird, die zwanghaft auf Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und außenwirtschaftliche Erfolge zielt. Natürlich habe ich auch die Hoffnung auf den Habermas’schen Urknall, in dem die europäischen Bürger sich politisieren und eine europäische Bewegung formen. Die dritte Alternative halte ich aber auch für attraktiv: eine Entzerrung, ein Zurücknehmen des großen vereinheitlichenden Regelungsanspruchs, des Messianismus Europas, wie Joseph Weiler das ... continue reading

22. Februar 2013

Would the election of a Member of the European Parliament as President of the Commission make democratic sense?

By CHRISTIAN JOERGES and FLORIAN RÖDL In a May 23rd Blog, Matthias Kumm reproduces the core arguments laid down in a policy report presented by himself and two other renowned colleagues from the European University Institute,  Bruno de Witte and Miguel Poiares Maduro.[1]  The report is entitled ‘democratic governance of the Euro’ and proposes ways and means of strengthening the democratic legitimation of EU political practices without altering the European Treaties. The introduction to the report hints at its genesis in a sudden revelation that current European struggles around the Euro are also indicative of democratic deficit in Europe. Reference ... continue reading

4. Juli 2012