Translated by Ciaran Cronin.
In the midst of the current crisis that is threatening to derail
the historical project of European unification, Jurgen Habermas has
been one of the most perceptive critics of the ineffectual and
evasive responses to the global financial crisis, especially by the
German political class. This extended essay on the constitution for
Europe represents Habermas's constructive engagement with the
European project at a time when the crisis of the eurozone is
threatening the very existence of the European Union. There is a
growing realization that the European treaty needs to be revised in
order to deal with the structural defects of monetary union, but a
clear perspective for the future is missing. Drawing on his
analysis of European unification as a process in which
international treaties have progressively taken on features of a
democratic constitution, Habermas explains why the current
proposals to transform the system of European governance into one
of executive federalism is a mistake. His central argument is that
the European project must realize its democratic potential by
evolving from an international into a cosmopolitan community. The
opening essay on the role played by the concept of human dignity in
the genealogy of human rights in the modern era throws further
important light on the philosophical foundations of Habermas's
theory of how democratic political institutions can be extended
beyond the level of nation-states. Now that the question of Europe
and its future is once again at the centre of public debate, this
important intervention by one of the greatest thinkers of our time
will be of interest to a wide readership.
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