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Ideology, constitutional culture and institutional change: the EU constitution as reflection of Europe’s emergent postmodernism

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  • Nikolay Wenzel

    (Hillsdale College)

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    Abstract

    Using the example of the European Constitution, this paper argues that ideology plays a much more important role in institutional change than has been indicated hitherto in the literature. Rather than being an intellectual parlor-game, Postmodernism has emerged through European high culture to find its voice in the new Constitution. Although it was rejected by a critical mass of voters, the proposed Constitution offers a telling glimpse into the European intellectual mindset – especially since politicians are now bruiting the possibility of ratifying the constitution via compliant legislatures rather than fickle referenda. Anomalies in the document are better explained by the post-World War Two emergence of postmodern philosophy in Europe than by more traditional explanations from political economy.

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    File URL: http://www.rebe.rau.ro/RePEc/rau/journl/FA07/REBE-FA07-A3.pdf
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    Bibliographic Info

    Article provided by Romanian-American University in its journal Romanian Economic and Business Review.

    Volume (Year): 2 (2007)
    Issue (Month): 3 (September)
    Pages: 25-47

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    Handle: RePEc:rau:journl:v:2:y:2007:i:3:p:25-47

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    Related research

    Keywords: European constitution; postmodernism; political economy; institutional change;

    References

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    1. Martin Howe, 2004. "The European Court: the forgotten powerhouse building the European superstate," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 17-21, 03.
    2. North, Douglass C., 1993. "Economic Performance through Time," Nobel Prize in Economics documents 1993-2, Nobel Prize Committee.
    3. Brennan,Geoffrey & Buchanan,James M., 2008. "The Reason of Rules," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521070904.
    4. North, Douglass C, 1978. "Structure and Performance: The Task of Economic History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 963-78, September.
    5. Institute for Economic Affairs, 2004. "The constitutional proposal of the European Convention: an appraisal and explanation," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 22-27, 03.
    6. Gordon, Scott, 1976. "The New Contractarians," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(3), pages 573-90, June.
    7. Bryan Caplan, 2002. "Sociotropes, Systematic Bias, and Political Failure: Reflections on the Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 83(2), pages 416-435.
    8. Paul Robinson, 2004. "Historical lessons for Europe's future in the wake of the EU Convention," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 5-10, 03.
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