Dieter Grimm's accessible introduction to the concept of sovereignty ties the evolution of the idea to historical events, from the religious conflicts of sixteenth-century Europe to today's trends in globalization and transnational institutions. Grimm wonders whether recent political changes have undermined notions of national sovereignty, comparing manifestations of the concept in different parts of the world. Geared for classroom use, the study maps various notions of sovereignty in relation to the people, the nation, the state, and the federation, distinguishing between internal and external types of sovereignty. Grimm's book will appeal to political theorists and cultural-studies scholars and to readers interested in the role of charisma, power, originality, and individuality in political rule.

Dieter Grimm's accessible introduction to the concept of sovereignty ties the evolution of the idea to historical events, from the religious conflicts of sixteenth-century Europe to today's trends in globalization and transnational institutions. Grimm wonders whether recent political changes have undermined notions of national sovereignty, comparing manifestations of the concept in different parts of the world. Geared for classroom use, the study maps various notions of sovereignty in relation to the people, the nation, the state, and the federation, distinguishing between internal and external types of sovereignty. Grimm's book will appeal to political theorists and cultural-studies scholars and to readers interested in the role of charisma, power, originality, and individuality in political rule.

Contemporary European politics seems to be gripped by a stifling conformism, an uninspiring uniformity of outlook which afflicts all the major parties. However, if there is one issue which does divide-though with the fault-lines within just as much as between right and left-it is the question of Europe, the future of the Union. But, for all the heat generated by the debate between Eurosceptics and Europhiles, and the vivid claims and counterclaims about federalism or the fate of national sovereignty, there is widespread public confusion about what is at issue-partly because of the opaque nature of the Community's institutions, and partly because much that is written on the subject is jargon or officalese. The Question of Europe offers an antidote, by collecting some of the liveliest and sharpest commentary on Europe, across the full political spectrum, from leading authorities in the study of history, economics, philosophy, culture and sociology. Eminent German, Italian, French, Swedish and Irish writers are included, as well as key figures from Britain and the US. Looking paranormically at the past, present and future of integration, The Question of Europe brings polemic and scholarship together to offer us a new way of approaching the Union.

Das Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin - Institute for Advanced Study gilt international als eines der erfolgreichsten seiner Art. Im Herbst 2006 feiert es sein 25-jahriges Bestehen. Dieses Jubilaum ist Anlass fur ein Resume: Namhafte deutsche und auslandische Autoren, die zumeist Fellows des Wissenschaftskollegs waren, beschreiben dessen Entwicklung sowie die Erfahrungen auf verschiedenen Wissensfeldern."

Die Rechtswissenschaft versteht sich traditionell nicht in erster Linie als Wissenschaft von der Herstellung richtigen Rechts oder als Wissenschaft von der richtigen Herstellung des Rechts. Sie wilJ vielrnehr vor allern Wissenschaft vorn richtigen Verstandnis und der richtigen Anwendung des geltenden Rechts sein. .Irn Zentrurn steht die Rechtsdogrnatik. Rechtskritik und Gesetzesreforrn werden keineswegs gernieden, aber doch vorwiegend bei Gelegenheit der dogrnatischen Behandlung des geltenden Rechts rniterledigt. AIs Teildisziplin der Rechtswissenschaft oder gar zurn Ausbildungskanon gehorendes Lehrfach haben sich Gesetzgebungslehre und Rechtspolitik bis heute nicht etablieren konnen. Allerdings laBt sich seit den siebziger Jahren ein zunehmendes Interesse an wissenschaftlich angeleiteter Rechtspolitik und Gesetzgebung beobachten, das seinen Grund in einer Veranderung der Staatstiitigkeit hat. Der Ubergang zur sozial-liberalen Koalition irn Jahre 1969 war zugleich der Ubergang von einer f vorwiegend auf die Ordnung und Garantie bestehender gesellschaftlicher V- hiiltnisse bezogenen Politik zu verrnehrter politischer Steuerung und Urngestal tung gesellschaftlicher Verhiiltnisse. Das hatte betriichtliche rechtspolitische Aktivitiiten iiberwiegend verrechtlichender und nur teilweise deregulierender' Natur, insgesarnt jedenfalls eine ansteigende Gesetzesflut und eine stiirkere Instrurnentalisierung des Rechts sowie die zunehmende Verwendung finaler statt, konditionaler Programmierung, auch Experirnentier- und Zeitgesetze zur Folge."

Constitutionalism: Past, Present, and Future is the definitive collection of Dieter Grimm's most influential writings on constitutional thought and interpretation. The essays included in this volume explore the conditions under which the modern constitution could emerge; they treat the characteristics that must be given if the constitution may be called an achievement, the appropriate way to understand and interpret constitutional law under current conditions, the function of judicial review, the remaining role of national constitutions in a changing world, as well as the possibility of supra-national constitutionalism. Many of these essays have influenced the German and European discussion on constitutionalism and for the first time, much of the work of one of German's leading scholars of public law will be available in the English language.

Dieter Grimm ist einer der führenden Gelehrten des Öffentlichen Rechts und einer der wichtigsten juristischen Zeitzeugen der Bundesrepublik. Er hat nicht nur in herausgehobener Funktion an der deutschen Rechtsentwicklung mitgewirkt und über sie nachgedacht, er ist auch ein international wahrgenommener Beobachter und Themensetzer. In diesem wissenschaftsbiographischen Interview berichtet er über Erfahrungen und Hintergründe, die weder in Gerichtsentscheidungen noch in wissenschaftlichen Publikationen zur Sprache kommen.

Dieter Grimm is one of the foremost scholars of constitutional law, constitutional theory, and European law in Germany and worldwide. His jurisprudential writings have found a large English-language audience in works such as Constitutionalism: Past, Present, and Future and The Constitution of European Democracy. This book is a conversation between Grimm and three scholars of constitutional law - Oliver Lepsius, Christian Waldhoff, and Matthias Rossbach - on his background, his childhood under the Nazi regime and the ruins of post-war Germany, his education in Germany, France, and the United States, his academic achievements, the main subjects of his research, his experience as a judge on a leading constitutional court (especially in the time of pivotal changes in the world after the fall of the Berlin Wall), and his views on actual challenges for law and society. Grimm also speaks about his attitude toward European integration where he is best known for his thesis that one of the biggest but least noticed causes for the lack of democratic legitimacy of the EU is its 'over-constitutionalization'. The book is an invaluable source of information on an outstanding career and the functioning of constitutional adjudication that the reader would not find in legal textbooks or treatises. The Times Literary Supplement, reviewing the German edition, stated: "For anyone wishing to understand the respect for the rule of law in modern Germany, this book is highly recommended."