Authoritarian Liberalism and the Transformation of Modern Europe (Oxford Constitutional Theory)

This title recounts the transformation of Europe from the post-war era until the Euro-crisis, using the tools of constitutional analysis and critical theory. The central claim is twofold: Europe has been gradually reconstituted in a manner that combines political authoritarianism with economic liberalism and that this order is now in a critical condition. Authoritarian liberalism is constructed supranationally, through a taming of inter-state relations in the project of European integration; at the domestic level, through the depoliticization of state-society relations; and socially, through the emergence of a new constitutional imaginary based on liberal individualism. In the language of constitutional theory, this transformation can be captured by the substitution of supranationalism for internationalism, technocracy for democracy, and economic for political freedom. Sovereignty is restrained, democracy curtailed, and class struggle repressed. This constitutional trajectory takes time to unfold and develop and it presents continuities and discontinuities. On the one hand, authoritarian liberalism is deepened by the neoliberalism of the Maastricht era and the creation of Economic and Monetary Union. On the other hand, counter-movements then also begin to emerge, geopolitically, in the return of the German question, domestically, in the challenges to the EU presented by constitutional courts, and informally, in the rise of anti-systemic political parties and movements. Sovereignty, democracy, and political freedom resurface, but are then more actively suppressed through the harsher authoritarian liberalism of the Euro-crisis phase. This leads now to an impasse. Anti-systemic politics return but remain uneasily within the EU, suggesting authoritarian liberalism has reached its limits if just about managing to maintain constitutional order. As yet, there has been no definitive rupture, with the possible exception of Brexit. cover 1 Series 3 Authoritarian Liberalism and the Transformation of Modern Europe 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 5 Table of Contents 12 List of Abbreviations 16 Introduction 18 Part I 36 1. Authoritarian Liberalism in Late Weimar 42 1. Introduction 42 2. Authoritarian liberalism in late Weimar 43 3. Toleration by the Social Democrats: a crisis of representation 47 4. Fascist dictatorship: the end of the political 53 5. A cult of violence 58 2. Beyond Weimar: The Long Crisis of Liberalism, the Political Economy of the Interwar Conjuncture, and the Foundations of Neo-​liberalism 61 1. Introduction 61 2. A liberal constitution in crisis: three models of constitutional self-defence 64 Kelsen’s Pure Theory of Law 66 Schmitt’s Absolute Constitution 68 Heller’s social democratic state 71 3. Karl Polanyi and the political economy of the interwar conjuncture 75 4. The foundations of neo-​liberalism 82 Part II 90 3. Restraining State Sovereignty: Imagining a ‘European Germany’ 98 1. Introduction 98 2. A semi-​sovereign state at the heart of Europe 99 3. The supranational compromise 104 4. De-​democratization of the Political Constitution 112 1. Introduction 112 2. Demobilization of the masses and the decline of parliamentarism 114 3. Sovereignty of the law 119 4. Constitutionalization of the European Treaties 127 5. The Material Constitution: Ordoliberalism, Neoliberalism, and the Deradicalization of Political Opposition 135 1. Introduction 135 2. The economic constitution and ordoliberalism 136 3. An economic constitution writ large and the transition to neo-​liberalism 142 4. Political deradicalization 150 Part III 156 6. Restraining State Sovereignty or the Return of the German Question? 164 1. Introduction 164 2. Differentiated integration and the ‘new intergovernmentalism’ 165 3. The return of the German question 171 4. Enlargement of the Union: stark utopia, stark asymmetries 175 7. The Post-​sovereign Constitution or the Return of Sovereignty? 180 1. Introduction 180 2. Post-​sovereign constitutionalism 182 3. The return of sovereignty claims 185 4. Excavating the dialectic: an authoritarian constitutionalism 191 8. The Material Constitution: There is no Alternative . . . or is There? 195 1. Introduction 195 2. Economic and Monetary Union 196 3. Deepening and widening of market liberal ideology 203 4. Decline of traditional mass parties and the emergence of social resentment 212 Part IV 220 9. Authoritarian Liberalism Writ Large: the Spectre of a ‘German Europe’ 228 1. Introduction 228 2. The Lisbon Treaty: a geo-​constitutional fudge 229 3. Euro crisis: the end of the democratic federal dream 232 4. The emergence of semi-​hegemony in a ‘German Europe’ 240 10. The New Constitutionalism and its Discontents 247 1. Introduction 247 2. The globalization of European constitutional discourse 248 3. Who is the guardian of the European Constitution? 254 4. The new constitutionalists 259 5. From Habermasian federalism to Schmittian federation 261 11. The Material Constitution in Crisis: Telos, Nomos, and Demos 266 1. Introduction 266 2. Economic liberalism and the telos of irreversibility 268 3. Austerity: narrative and nomos 274 4. The erosion of the demos 279 Conclusion 286 Bibliography 306 Index 338 This book recounts the transformation of Europe from the interwar era until the euro crisis, using the tools of constitutional analysis and critical theory. The central claim is twofold: post-war Europe is reconstituted in a manner combining political authoritarianism and economic liberalism, producing an order which is now in a critical condition. The book begins in the interwar era, when liberalism, unable to deal with mass democracy and the social question, turns to authoritarianism in an attempt to suppress democracy, with disastrous consequences in Weimar and elsewhere. After the Second World War, partly on the basis of a very different diagnosis of interwar collapse, and initially through a passive authoritarianism, inter-state sovereignty is reconfigured, state-society relations are depoliticized, and social relations transformed. Integration is substituted for internationalism, technocracy for democracy, and economic liberty for political freedom and class struggle. This transformation takes time to unfold, and it presents continuities as well as discontinuities. It is deepened by the neo-liberalism of the Maastricht era and the creation of Economic and Monetary Union, and yet countermovements then also emerge: geopolitically, in the return of the German question; and domestically, in the challenges presented by constitutional courts and anti-systemic movements. Struggles over sovereignty, democracy, and political freedom resurface, but are then more actively repressed through the authoritarian liberalism of the euro crisis phase. This leads now to an impasse. Anti-systemic politics return but remain uneasily within the EU, suggesting that the post-war order of authoritarian liberalism is reaching its limits. As yet, however, there has been no definitive rupture. We Want Land to Live explores the current boundaries of radical approaches to food sovereignty. First coined by La Via Campesina (a global movement whose name means “the peasant's way”), food sovereignty is a concept that expresses the universal right to food. Amy Trauger uses research combining ethnography, participant observation, field notes, and interviews to help us understand the material and definitional struggles surrounding the decommodification of food and the transfor­mation of the global food system's political-economic foundations.Trauger's work is the first of its kind to analytically and coherently link a dialogue on food sovereignty with case studies illustrating the spatial and territorial strate­gies by which the movement fosters its life in the margins of the corporate food regime. She discusses community gardeners in Portugal; small-scale, independent farmers in Maine; Native American wild rice gatherers in Minnesota; seed library supporters in Pennsylvania; and permaculturists in Georgia.The problem in the food system, as the activists profiled here see it, is not markets or the role of governance but that the right to food is conditioned by what the state and corporations deem to be safe, legal, and profitable—and not by what eaters think is right in terms of their health, the environment, or their communities. Useful for classes on food studies and active food movements alike, We Want Land to Live makes food sovereignty issues real as it illustrates a range of methodological alternatives that are consistent with its discourse: direct action (rather than charity, market creation, or policy changes), civil disobedience (rather than compliance with discriminatory laws), and mutual aid (rather than reliance on top-down aid). We Want Land to Live explores the current boundaries of radical approaches to food sovereignty. First coined by La Via Campesina (a global movement whose name means "the peasant's way"), food sovereignty is a concept that expresses the universal right to food. Amy Trauger uses research combining ethnography, participant observation, field notes, and interviews to help us understand the material and definitional struggles surrounding the decommodification of food and the transformation of the global food system's political-economic foundations. Trauger's work is the first of its kind to analytically and coherently link a dialogue on food sovereignty with case studies illustrating the spatial and territorial strategies by which the movement fosters its life in the margins of the corporate food regime. She discusses community gardeners in Portugal; small-scale, independent farmers in Maine; Native American wild rice gatherers in Minnesota; seed library supporters in Pennsylvania; and permaculturists in Georgia. The problem in the food system, as the activists profiled here see it, is not markets or the role of governance but that the right to food is conditioned by what the state and corporations deem to be safe, legal, and profitable--and not by what eaters think is right in terms of their health, the environment, or their communities. Useful for classes on food studies and active food movements alike, We Want Land to Live makes food sovereignty issues real as it illustrates a range of methodological alternatives that are consistent with its discourse: direct action (rather than charity, market creation, or policy changes), civil disobedience (rather than compliance with discriminatory laws), and mutual aid (rather than reliance on top-down aid) Introduction: Political Practice At The Margins -- Political Economies Of Food Sovereignty -- Episteme(s) Of Food Sovereignty -- Temporary Commons: Urban Community Gardens -- Spatial Practices Of Governance: Community-based Rights -- Re/territorializing Food Security: Manoomin Gift Economies -- Making Political Space For Life: Seeds And Permaculture -- Conclusion: Love As A Radically Collective Practice. Amy Trauger, University Of Georgia Press. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 139-151) And Index. This Book Uses Constitutional Analysis And Theory To Explore The Transformation Of Europe From The Post-war Era Until The Euro-crisis. Authoritarian Liberalism Has Developed Over These Years And, As The Book Suggests, Is Now Perhaps Reaching Its Limit. This Book Uses History And Theory To Reveal The Eu's Journey And Highlight Future Challenges.