Exodus Reckoning Sacrifice

Exodus, Reckoning, Sacrifice offers a very different take on Brexit to those found in most news segments or opinion pieces. Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Professor of International Relations at Oxford University, examines Britain's relationship with the EU through the lens of Greek mythology, using three key archetypes to analyse the differing visions of the world that have clashed so dramatically over this issue. 'Exodus' makes Brexit a story about British exceptionalism; both a British problem and a testimony to the EU’s incapacity to accommodate exceptions. 'Reckoning' brings the story back to the EU’s shores, with Brexit a harbinger of terrible truths which we lump together under the easy label of euroscepticism. And 'Sacrifice' contends with the ironic possibility that after and perhaps because of Brexit, the EU will live up to the pluralist ideals that define both the best of Britain and the best of Europe. Ultimately, the book contains a plea for acknowledging each other’s stories, with their many variants, ambiguities and contradictions. And in this spirit of recognition, it calls for a mutually respectful, do-no-harm Brexit – the smarter, kinder and gentler Brexit possible in our hard-edged epoch of resentment and frustration.

The European Union means many different things to its many peoples. In Germany, for example, the European project was conceived mainly as post-national, or even post-sovereign. In France, by contrast, President Emmanuel Macron has pursued the vision of a sovereign Europe; that is, an EU that would become a formidable geopolitical actor. Yet, instead, Europe has struggled to ascertain its values abroad and even domestically, facing a sovereignist rebellion from its newer member states, such as Hungary and Poland, and the departure of Britain. The eurozone crisis has undermined the EU’s economic credentials, the refugee crisis its societal cohesion, the failure to stand up to Russia its sense of purpose, and the Covid-19 pandemic its credibility as a protector of European citizens. The key argument of this book is that the multiple crises of the European project are caused by one underlying factor: its bold attempt to overcome the age of nation-states. Left unchecked, supranational institutions tend to become ever more bureaucratic, eluding control of the people they are meant to serve. The logic of technocracy is thus pitted against the democratic impulse, which the European Union is supposed to embody. Democracy in Europe has suffered as a result.

This groundbreaking new textbook offers extensive coverage of EU External Action studies, from its major concepts to the key theories in the field. Over the past decades, the European Union has progressively developed into a significant global actor in an increasing number of policy fields. This long-awaited volume looks into different ways of conceptualizing the EU as a global actor, the processes and impact of EU external action, explanations offered by IR and integration theories, the discursive, normative, practice and gender 'turns', and the 'decentring agenda' for EU external action. The book offers a reader-friendly guidance on these various ways in which to study the EU as a global actor: each chapter introduces one concept, approach or theory and illustrates its application by a case study of EU external action. In drawing the different perspectives together, the book underscores that 'EU External Action Studies' is becoming an academic speciality in its own right. Written by leading experts, the volume will make essential reading for students, scholars and practitioners of EU external action. EU External Action Studies nowadays attract attention from scholars and students in International Relations (IR), Foreign Policy Analysis and (interdisciplinary) EU Studies, as well as from practitioners.

“Given their ethnic diversity, to what extent, and at what cost and benefit to human dignity, can European countries adopt and adapt plural democracy?” The contributors to this volume offer answers to this question from a variety of multidisciplinary perspectives within the framework of the integral theory of law and the state. Their shared aim is to explain legal phenomena in the context of other relevant issues and to identify, analyse and critique conceptualizations, problems and situations. This volume is rooted in the historical and contemporary European experience with special cases from Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia, Spain and Canada which are relevant for understanding the European problem. Solutions to the problem are sought through innovative interpretations of the rule of law, democracy and human dignity, which are followed by argumentation about how these concepts, when recognized as European legal principles, can be implemented in order to avoid ethnic conflicts. Following an introduction that defines the problem at the centre of the book and explains how legal theory can be used to address it, the book consists of eleven contributions divided into three thematic sections. The first covers topics concerning the European principles which can help avoid ethnic conflicts: the principle of compulsory adjudication in interstate relations, the principle of democracy, and principles regarding the recognition of individual and collective identities. These European principles are then investigated by drawing on legal and political theories. The second section presents three ways of conceptualizing ethnical needs in multi-ethnic states: asymmetric federalism, dêmoicratic account and cooperative federalism. The third and final section elaborates on issues concerning the protection of minority rights: the role of judicial ideology in protecting minority rights, citizenship, the EU mechanism for the protection of minority rights, and the importance of remembering tragic events affecting minorities.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. How can the EU be made legitimate and sustainable through (constitutional) law - and what is the role of constitutional lawyers and their ideas in creating this "sense of legitimacy"? This book seeks to answer these questions through the concept of the "constitutional imaginary": sets of ideas and beliefs that motivate and justify the practice of government and collective self-rule. Constitutional imaginaries are as important as institutions and office- holders, as they provide political action with an overarching sense and purpose recognized as legitimate by those governed. Constitutional imaginaries are 'necessary fictions' that make political rule possible, and at the same time they are ideologies which hide from view various forms of domination. European Constitutional Imaginaries deals with a variety of questions and is split into four parts to address: the first part explores in more detail various meanings of European constitutional imaginary, as seen by different disciplines: legal sociology, political and constitutional theory, and philosophy. The second part revisits the contribution of some key authors to the creation of European constitutional imaginaries, and the third part offers various new ways of thinking about European constitutionalism. The fourth and final part examines political economy behind various constitutional imaginaries. Written by a balanced mix of well-established authors and newer talent, European Constitutional Imaginaries promises to open debates on European constitutionalism that are necessary to understanding Europe's present predicament and its various crises, all navigated through the medium of law.

This multifaceted book investigates the place of dance and performance in the development, confirmation and subversion of conceptions of Europe from the 20th century up until today. Its contributions unravel the nexus between Europe and dance from historical and contemporaneous perspectives, and testify to an understanding of Europe based on different constructions of (alternative) societies. Through the threefold themes of identities, languages and institutions, this volume reveals the complexity of this topic. It investigates the construction of European identities in and through performance and their intersection with local or global cultures; explores versatile models of European multilingualism and linguistic diversity on stage; and considers the constructions of Europe, in dance, as conditioned by institutional and socio-political frameworks. The first volume of its kind, it offers a collection of previously unpublished chapters by an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars. It will make essential reading for anyone interested in the fields of dance, performance and European Studies, and serve as an important springboard for future research in this area.

The decision made by the United Kingdom in 2016 to leave the European Union has produced shock waves across Europe and the world. Brexit calls into question consolidated assumptions on the finality of the EU, and simultaneously sparks new challenges. These new challenges are not only in regard of the constitutional settlements reached in the UK, notably in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but also on the future of European integration. Now that Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union has been invoked, and the path towards full withdrawal by the UK from the EU remains clouded in uncertainties, a comprehensive legal and political analysis of how Brexit impacts on UK and the EU appears of the utmost importance. This book brings together leading lawyers, economists and political scientists to discuss the constitutional implications of Brexit and propose possible solutions for the way forward. The book is structured around four main themes. First, it considers how Brexit will be implemented legally and politically, in terms of the withdrawal and the possible new relations between the UK and the EU. Second, it examines the implications of Brexit on the constitutional structure of the UK, as well as on the status of Northern Ireland and the relations with the Republic of Ireland. Third, it examines the implications of Brexit on the constitutional structure of the EU, focusing on a number of key areas of EU policy-making, notably the Area of Freedom Security and Justice, the Single Market, and Economic and Monetary Union. Finally, the book looks to the mid to long-term future, and discusses the prospects for relaunching the EU after Brexit.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an important case study, on a global scale, of how democracy works - and fails to work - today. From leadership to citizenship, from due process to checks and balances, from globalization to misinformation, from solidarity within and across borders to the role of expertise, key democratic concepts both old and new are now being put to the test. The future of democracy around the world is at issue as today's governments manage their responses to the pandemic. Bringing together some of today's most creative thinkers, these essays offer a variety of inquiries into democracy during the global pandemic with a view to imagining post-crisis political conditions. Representing different regions and disciplines, including law, politics, philosophy, religion, and sociology, eighteen voices offer different outlooks - optimistic and pessimistic - on the future.