Claus Offe - Citizens in Europe: Essays on Democracy, Constitutionalism and European Integration

Claus Offe and Ulrich K. Preu 2016

First published by the ECPR Press in 2016

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HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-785-522-38-3

PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-1-785-521-42-3

PDF ISBN: 978-1-785-521-73-7

EPUB ISBN: 978-1-785-521-74-4

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Peter Kennealy (European University Institute)

Ian OFlynn (University of Newcastle)

Alexandra Segerberg (Stockholm University)

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Figures

Figure 1 Conceptualisations of the interaction between market economy and the welfare state

Figure 2 Conceptualisations of the interaction between political democracy and the welfare state

Claus Offe and Ulrich K. Preu

The politics of European integration and the management of its various crises is currently (fall of 2015) in an unusually hectic mode. The difficulties of the Eurozone produce front page news in all major media where highly consequential last minute decisions (and the contested authority of EU institutions to make them) are being reported and commented upon. From the Euro crisis to monetary policy, to the crisis in Ukraine, to the issues of refugee migration, policy makers adopt bold and untested measures to sail uncharted seas, fully aware of heightened risks and dangers.

In such a context it may seem slightly frivolous to prepare the publication of a volume, many of the contributions to which revisit the basic institutional features and normative principles of the European Union, elaborating on key concepts such as citizenship, constitutionalism and democracy. Arent there, given the culmination and interaction of various crises, more urgent intellectual challenges to address and policy proposals to submit? In response to such doubts, we would like to insist at the outset that the crisis may be exactly the right time to reconsider some of the basics, such as they are indicated by the three concepts in the subtitle of the present volume. That, at least, was also the view of colleagues, most prominently Dario Castiglione, who are familiar with the work that either of the two authors (and occasionally also both of us jointly) have written. These colleagues have encouraged us to put together this collection of essays which were written over a period of more than 30 years. The hope, to be either fulfilled or frustrated by the judgement of critical readers, is that the normative and analytical arguments presented in our earlier work may still throw light on the issues that the EU and its citizens must come to terms with if the current turbulences of the European integration process are at all to be coped with. Hectic emergency pragmatics, in other words, are not enough.

What is the problem the EU and its citizens are facing? It consists in the coincidence of dilemmas, processes, contradictions, events and conflicting demands which, taken together, pose an extraordinary challenge to the EUs political capabilities, arguably even its survival. The most important components of this challenge are, briefly, the following: