The Federal Vision: Legitimacy and Levels of Governance in the United States and the European Union

The Federal Vision: Legitimacy and Levels of Governance in the United States and the European Union

by KalypsoNicolaidis (Editor), RobertHowse (Editor)

Synopsis

The Federal Vision is about the complex and changing relationship between levels of governance within the United States and the European Union. Based on a transatlantic dialogue between scholars concerned about modes of governance on both sides, it is a collective attempt at analysing the ramifications of the legitimacy crisis in our multi-layered democracies, and possible remedies. Starting from a focus on the current policy debatea over devolution and subsidiarity, the book engages the reader in to the broader tension of comparartive federalism. Its authors believe that in spite of the fundamental differences between them, both the EU and the US are in the process of re-defining a federal vision for the 21st century. This book represents an important new contribution to the study of Federalism and European integration, which seeks to bridge the divide between the two. It also bridges the traditional divide between technical, legal or regulatory discussions of federal governance and philosophical debates over questions of belonging and multiple identities. It is a multi-disciplinary project, bringing together historians, political scientists and theorists, legal scholars, sociologists and political economists. It includes both innovative analysis and prescriptions on how to reshape the federal contract in the US and the EU. It includes introductions to the history of federalism in the US and the EU, the current debates over devolution and subsidarity, the legal framework of federalism and theories of regulatory federalism, as well as innovative approaches to the application of network analysis, principal-agent models, institutionalist analysis, and political theories of citizenship to the federal context. The introduction and conclusion by the editors draws out cross-cutting themes and lessons from the thinking together of the EU and US experiences, and suggest how a federal vision could be freed from the hierarchical paradigm of the federal state and articulated around concepts of mutal tolerence and empowerment.

$3.26

Save:$54.57 (94%)

Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 556
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Published: 08 Nov 2001

ISBN 10: 0199245002
ISBN 13: 9780199245000

Media Reviews
Outstanding book ... stimulating introduction ... this is a volume that is rich in ideas and takes the debates over US and EU federal development in original and thought-provoking directions. * Perspectives on European Politics and Society *
The Federal Vision offers a comparative overview and an in-depth analysis of issues concerning federalism and its future in the European Union, the United States and even in a more global framework. * Collegium *
This book presents an overarching and balanced picture of the issues related to the concept of federalism within the European Union (EU) and its implication for an ever-closer global order ... features also a helpful comparison of the EU and US federal settings ... addresses cruical challenges such as the issues of citizenship, legitimacy and statehood. * Collegium *
The book is an important addition to the literature. It provides a comprehensive study of key issues facing the European Union, the major contemporary debates regarding its political system, and the parallels with similar debates in the United States. * International Journal *