Overview

This insightful book examines the inherent fragility of modern liberal constitutionalism and shows how it is in the nature of every constitutional community, including the European Union, to try to protract its own duration as much as possible. The book considers the strengths, weaknesses, tensions, and contradictions of European constitutionalism using the lens of constitutional time. The author’s claim is that duration should not be sought just for its own sake: an internal link between constitutionalism and democracy should be ensured. He suggests two options to achieve this objective. The first centres on decision-making at the subnational or local level and by intermediate bodies, including cities and regions as well as political parties and private bodies. The second focuses on the promotion of socio-economic rights and welfare standards. Through these debates a theory of 'communal constitutionalism' is proposed – placing emphasis on the role of future generations. Combining temporal and reflexive dimensions it addresses the questions of how to be 'secure' and what it means for the EU polity to be 'secure'. This expertly crafted book will be essential reading for students and scholars of constitutional and administrative law, European law, and legal theory. It will also be of interest to political scientists looking at European constitutionalism and sociologists interested in the development of law beyond the State.

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9781789908992

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Reviews

'This book defends the ambitious thesis that if constitutions articulate what a collective commits to over time, so, too, different interpretations of the temporality of commitment inform different constitutional ideal types. The fractal temporality of communal constitutionalism is well suited, so Fichera, to deal with the challenges of societal commitment in multi-level governance.' -- Hans Lindahl, Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and Queen Mary University of London, UK

‘Massimo Fichera examines the constitutional dimensions of the European Union in this learned and intellectually rich volume. He explains but also challenges many familiar constitutional concepts and categories. This book brims with ideas and is critical reading for anyone concerned with the problems and promises of modern constitutionalism.’ -- Richard Kay, University of Connecticut, US ‘Massimo Fichera has produced a highly original and enlightening extended essay on the way in which the passage of time is factored into the constitutional imaginary both of the modern state, and of the ‘postmodern’ European Union. In so doing, he offers an important response to those voices – theoretical and practical – that doubt the capacity of Europe to frame a common political future.’ -- Neil Walker, University of Edinburgh, UK ‘This book defends the ambitious thesis that if constitutions articulate what a collective commits to over time, so, too, different interpretations of the temporality of commitment inform different constitutional ideal types. The fractal temporality of communal constitutionalism is well suited, to deal with the challenges of societal commitment in multi-level governance.’ -- Hans Lindahl, Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and Queen Mary University of London, UK

Author Information

Massimo Fichera, Associate Professor in Philosophy of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Maastricht, the Netherlands

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