The Undecided Power : A Constitutional History of the European Union, 1948-2007 / Frank Schorkopf, Margaret Hiley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schorkopf, Frank, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (XII, 410 p.)

Place of Publication:

München Wien De Gruyter Oldenbourg, [2026]

Language Note:

In English.

Biography/History:

Frank Schorkopf , University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.

Summary:

The book traces the political struggles of politicians and civil servants, judges and academics to establish a European Union from the Hague Congress of Europe in 1948 to the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. Frank Schorkopf reconstructs the project of a European political order as a coexistence and collaboration between three lines of thinking - constitutionalism, governmentalism, and pragmatism - in which constitutional authority is undecided. The sixteen chapters make it clear that although the actors wanted to create something new, they were hardly able to break away from their constitutional-history perspectives and were constantly confronted with classic questions about the architecture of power: questions of legitimacy and acceptance, of fundamental rights protection and identity.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

IXOpen-Access-Transformation in History

1Introduction

(1948 to 1969) Striving for Supranationality

Commonalities

Sector Integration

Attempting a Constitution

Functionality

The Architecture of Power

Autonomy

(1969 to 1984) The Quest for Identity

Europe's Realignment

Politicality

Democracy

Individuality

A Community of Law

(1985 to 2007) The Leap to the Union

Reform

Ambition

Power Conflict

Striving Ever Closer

Undecidedness

Beyond 2007

305Endnotes

Index

Notes:

This eBook is made available Open Access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed August 05 2026)

ISBN:

3-11-224134-7