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

Based on a transatlantic dialogue between scholars, this work addresses the complex and changing relationship between levels of governance within the United States and the European Union. It examines modes of governance on both sides, analyzing the ramifications of the legitimacy crisis in our multi-layered democracies and moving beyond the current policy debates over "devolution" and "subsidiarity." 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 twenty-first century. 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. The "Federal Vision" is about the complex and changing relationship between levels of governance within the United States and in 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 engagesthe 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 leof 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 experiemnces, and suggest how a federal vision could be freed from the jierarchical paradigm of the federal state and articulated around concepts of mutal tolerence and empowerment What is happening to the uneasy relationship between the States and the Union in the United States and the European Union? How to make subsidiarity and devolution work better on both sides of the Atlantic? And what are the new models of governance beyond the state that can sustain the challenge of legitimacy? This book brings together an impressive array of historians, political scientists, legal scholars and political economists to address these questions andarticulate a Federal Vision for the 21st century What is happening to the uneasy relationship between the States and the Union in the United States and the European Union? How to make subsidiarity and devolution work better on both sides of the Atlantic? And what are the new models of governance beyond the state that can sustain the challenge of legitimacy? This book brings together historians, political scientists, legal scholars and political economists to address these questions and articulate a federal vision for the 21st century Edited By Kalypso Nicolaïdis And Robert Howse. This Book Is Drawn From A Conference Held In April 1999 At The Kennedy School Of Government, Harvard University.--p. [vii]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book is intended for scholars and students of European Union, Political Science, International Law, International Relations, Political Economy, Comparative Federalism, European and American Politics This book brings together historians, political scientists, legal scholars and political economists to address questions of the federal vision and to articulate a vision for the 21st century