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The Early European “FederalismFederalism ”: Ambiguities of Talks About How to Walk Toward a Political UnionPolitical Union

In: Do They Walk Like They Talk?

Author

Listed:
  • Jean-Michel Josselin

    (Faculté des sciences économiques, Université de Rennes 1 and CREM-CNRS)

  • Alain Marciano

    (Faculté des sciences économiques, Université de Rennes 1 and CREM-CNRS)

Abstract

The European institutions constitute an incomplete – as incomplete as any constitutional contract – agency contract. Incompleteness means that the agents, the European institutions, benefit from important asymmetries of information and therefore behave as their own principal. They do not behave as they are told to but choose their own objectives and means of action. In this chapter, we analyze the historical origins of such incompleteness. We show that it results from, and as a consequence, is reinforced by the hesitations of the founders of the European institutions about the nature of a European federationfederation . These ambiguities are crucial for a double reason: not only do they influence the nature of the tasks delegated to the European institutions but they also impact the way they can be controlled. We analyze a set ofdiscoursesdiscourse and official texts and show that the term “federal” bears various meanings, ranging from centralized federalismfederalism to decentralized confederalismconfederalism .

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Michel Josselin & Alain Marciano, 2009. "The Early European “FederalismFederalism ”: Ambiguities of Talks About How to Walk Toward a Political UnionPolitical Union," Studies in Public Choice, in: Louis M. Imbeau (ed.), Do They Walk Like They Talk?, chapter 0, pages 241-255, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:stpchp:978-0-387-89672-4_14
    DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-89672-4_14
    as

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