Modern Social Contract Theory provides an exposition and evaluation of major work in social contract theory from 1950 to the present. It locates the central themes of that theory in the intellectual legacy of utilitarianism, particularly the problems of defining principles of justice and of showing the grounds of moral obligation. It demonstrates how theorists responded in a novel way to the dilemmas articulated in utilitarianism, developing in their different approaches a constructivist method in ethics, a method that aimed to vindicate a liberal, democratic and just political order. A distinctive feature of the book is its comparative approach. By placing the works of Barry, Buchanan and Tullock, Harsanyi, Gauthier, Grice, Rawls, and Scanlon alongside one another, similarities and differences are brought out, most notably in the way in which principles are derived by each author from the contractual construction as well as the extent to which the obligation to adopt those principles can be rationally grounded. Each theory is placed in its particular intellectual context. Special attention is paid to the contrasting theories of rationality adopted by the different authors, whether that be utility theory or a deliberative conception of rationality, with the intention of assessing how far the principles advanced can be justified by reference to the hypothetical choices of rational contracting agents. The book concludes with a discussion of some principal objections to the enterprise of contract theory, and offers its own programme for the future of that theory taking the form of the empirical method.

Originally published in 1978, this book presents a philosophical analysis of the principle of equality, and is also a study of the institutional implications of that principle in the field of social policy. The author distinguishes between a 'procedural' and a 'substantive' version of the principle of equality and considers the implications of both. Procedural equality is identified with the concept of equity and includes the recommendation that like cases should be treated as like. The application of this principle to some political argument in the area of social policy, such as family allowances, is discussed. The author defines the substantive principle as the rule that persons should share the same level of economic welfare. Some difficulties in implementing the equal welfare principle are discussed, with particular application to pensions policy. An original interpretation of the logical relationship between the principle of need and that of equality is proposed, and is applied to the case of the health services. The final 2 chapters deal with the institutional implications of the equality principle. These chapters analyse some major political arguments over the organisation of social policy, such as the compatibility of extensive social welfare measures with a market economy.

This new book introduces innovative research on democracy from the leading Comparative Manifestos Project (CMP). It details the key achievements of the project to date, illustrates how its findings may be applied, lays out the future challenges it faces and examines how the field as a whole can advance. It also presents a special assessment of the dimensionality of party competition, presenting ways in which research can be extended and related to broader approaches in Political Science and Theory. Although CMP research is widely used and constitutes the major comparative data set on party positions and ideological location, it is also subject to challenge. The volume therefore provides the reader with a clear sense of the key debates and questions surrounding its work. This volume also honours the life-time achievement of Professor Ian Budge, who has provided distinguished intellectual leadership for the CMP over the last twenty-five years. This is an essential point of reference for all comparative research on the functioning of democracies. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of politics and of democracy in particular.

This new book introduces innovative research on democracy from the leading Comparative Manifestos Project (CMP).
It outlines the achievements of the project to date, illustrates how its findings may be applied, lays out the future challenges it faces and examines how the field as a whole can advance. It also presents a special assessment of the dimensionality of party competition, presenting ways in which research can be extended and related to broader approaches in Political Science and Theory.
Although CMP research is widely used and constitutes the major comparative data set on party positions and ideological location, it is also subject to challenge. The volume therefore provides the reader with a clear sense of the key debates and questions surrounding its work.
This volume also honors the life-time achievement of Professor Ian Budge, who has provided distinguished intellectual leadership for the CMP over the last twenty-five years.
This is an essentialpoint of reference for all comparative research on the functioning of democracies. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of politics and of democracy in particular.

The contributors to this study address the question of how political theory is relevant to the construction of the new Europe and tie-in issues of citizenship, social justice and political legitimacy. By using techniques of contemporary political theory the book argues that the emergence of the new Europe poses fundamental questions of value and principle and challenges more established political theories in the process.

The contributors to this study address the question of how political theory is relevant to the construction of the new Europe and tie-in issues of citizenship, social justice and political legitimacy. By using techniques of contemporary political theory the book argues that the emergence of the new Europe poses fundamental questions of value and principle and challenges more established political theories in the process.

Rights are part of our everyday moral and political vocabulary. Yet while few would deny that rights are important, there is a great deal of disagreement about just how valuable rights are and what their proper limits ought to be. For example, some scholars and practitioners maintain that human rights are valuable because they lay down a framework of protection, while at the same time leaving people ample room to lead their lives as they see fit. They are not just another way of life, but instead set the boundaries to what government can or cannot do. Others, however, hold that, while important, rights are not neutral between different ways of life and hence cannot tell us what to do when different ways of life conflict. This collection breaks new ground by tackling such questions head on. The issues it covers are some of the most vital that we face today. Their relevance to contemporary social and political debates cannot be overstated. The collection should appeal to political philosophers, lawyers, human rights activists and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the arts, humanities and social sciences. This book was published as a special issue of Critical Review of International, Social and Political Philosophy.

Contents:
List of Figures List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Preface 1. Introduction Michael Nentwich and Albert Weale Part 1: Political Legitimacy and the Democratic Deficit 2. Legitimacy and the European Union David Beetham and Christopher Lord 3. Democracy, Legitimacy and Majority Rule in the European Union Andreas Follesdal 4. Between Representation and Constitutionalism in the European Union Albert Weale 5. Defending the Democratic Deficit Sverker Gustavsson
art 2: Decision Rules and the Constitutional Construction of the European Union 6. The European Union: Trends in Theory and Reform Michael J. Tsinisizelis and Dimitris N. Chryssochoou 7. Legitimacy Dilemmas of Supranational Governance: The European Commission between Accountability and Independence Thomas Christiansen 8. How to Democratize a Multi-Level, Multi-Dimensional Polity Heidrun Abromeit 9. Opportunity Structures for Citizens' Participation: The Case of the European Union Richard Kuper 11. European Union Citizenship as a Model of Citizenship beyond the Nation-State: Possibilities and Limits Theodora Kostakopoulou 12. European Union Citizenship and Supranational Democracy Clara Closa 13. Environmental Protection in a Liberal Democratic Europe: Constitutional Aspects Marcel Wissenburg

Over the last thirty years, the European Union has created a system of environmental governance in Europe. With a large number of legislative measures, the EU's environmental policy is broad in scope, extensive in detail and often stringent in effect. Environmental governance also extends to the ways in which decision making on environmental policy has become institutionalized within Europe, both at the level of the EU itself and in the practices of the member states. This work seeks to understand this new system of environmental governance both at the European level and at the level of member states. It argues that the system is multi-level, horizontally complex, evolving and incomplete. Locating developments at the European level in theories of European integration, it goes on to examine the extent of convergence and divergence in environmental policy among six member states: Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK. It then looks at the operation of the system of environmental governance through an examination of policy case studies before examining the wider political significance of these developments.

A public health crisis is gripping the UK. COVID-19 revealed the weaknesses of the UK's public health system, once thought to be among the best in the world. Against this background, this book examines the organisational and political barriers to an effective public health system showcased through the UK. It urges that what is needed is a new social contract, in which health policy is truly public.

From acid rain to clean drinking water, from clean beaches to packaging waste, the operation of the environmental rules in the European Union affects all our lives. This book examines how rules for environmental protection are made in Europe. It identifies the forces that shape how rules are made and why they take the form they do.

This book offers a theory of democratic justice. According to the theory, justice emerges from collective agreement among political associates who enjoy approximate equality of power. Such situations can be seen as social contracts, and we find an empirical model for social contracts in the examples of successful common property resource regimes. In these regimes, participants craft collective rules of access to the means of production on an equal basis and producers are entitled to the full fruits of their labour. To interpret this theoretically an account of practical rationality in terms of individual and public deliberation is required. In tracing the move from small scale to large scale societies, three important transformations become apparent: in political institutions; in the economy; and in the functions of the household. All are relevant to the understanding of justice. In great societies representative parties making policy and law in shifting coalitions in parliaments elected by proportional representation exemplify political equality and so instance one form of democratic justice. In the economy corporate hierarchies modify the full fruits principles, not always in the direction of justice. Redistribution is justified as a means of smoothing income across the life-cycle, rather than by appeal to economies of scale or a simple principle of need. The sense of democratic justice requires commitment to the maintenance of those institutions that protect common interests, whilst acknowledging where there are differences of interest. This sense of democratic justice needs to be upheld by effective governance.

Rights are part of our everyday moral and political vocabulary. Yet while few would deny that rights are important, there is a great deal of disagreement about just how valuable rights are and what their proper limits ought to be. For example, some scholars and practitioners maintain that human rights are valuable because they lay down a framework of protection, while at the same time leaving people ample room to lead their lives as they see fit. They are not just another way of life, but instead set the boundaries to what government can or cannot do. Others, however, hold that, while important, rights are not neutral between different ways of life and hence cannot tell us what to do when different ways of life conflict. This collection breaks new ground by tackling such questions head on. The issues it covers are some of the most vital that we face today. Their relevance to contemporary social and political debates cannot be overstated. The collection should appeal to political philosophers, lawyers, human rights activists and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the arts, humanities and social sciences. This book was published as a special issue of Critical Review of International, Social and Political Philosophy.

The contributors to this book examine the issues of constitutional choice that face the governments and citizens of today's Europe. Divided into three sections this study addresses: questions of political legitimacy and the meaning of democratic deficit in the EU; the reality of what institutional reforms and decision making processes are possible; and the rights of citizenship and values that should be protected.

This wide-ranging text identifies and assesses the main conceptions of democracy from participationist to elitist. It proceeds to consider in detail a range of key issues in democratic theory in relation to which these conceptions can be distinguished. The second edition has been revised throughout and includes entirely new chapters on deliberative democracy and on self-determination and issues of governance at an international level in particular those associated with notions of cosmopolitan democracy.