Human Dignity and Democracy in Europe

Human Dignity and Democracy in Europe
Author: Bedford, Daniel
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2022-03-17
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1789902843

This collection identifies and discuss the connections between human dignity and democracy from theoretical, substantive, and comparative perspectives. Drawing on detailed analyses of national and transnational law, it provides timely insights into the uses of human dignity to promote and challenge ideas of identity and solidarity.

European and US Constitutionalism

European and US Constitutionalism
Author: Georg Nolte
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2005-09-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781139446907

European constitutionalism is not merely an intra-European phenomenon but it can also be compared to other major forms of constitutionalism. Over the past decade or so issues have emerged which seem to indicate that European constitutional theory and practice is becoming aware that it has developed certain rules and possesses certain characteristics which distinguish it from US constitutionalism and vice versa. This book explores whether such differences can be found in the five areas of 'freedom of speech', 'human dignity', 'duty to protect', 'adjudication' and 'democracy and international influences'. The authors of this book are constitutional scholars from Europe and the United States as well as from other constitutional states, such as Canada, Israel, Japan, Peru and South Africa.

The Crisis of the European Union

The Crisis of the European Union
Author: Jürgen Habermas
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2014-03-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0745681530

Translated by Ciaran Cronin. In the midst of the current crisis that is threatening to derail the historical project of European unification, Jürgen Habermas has been one of the most perceptive critics of the ineffectual and evasive responses to the global financial crisis, especially by the German political class. This extended essay on the constitution for Europe represents Habermas’s constructive engagement with the European project at a time when the crisis of the eurozone is threatening the very existence of the European Union. There is a growing realization that the European treaty needs to be revised in order to deal with the structural defects of monetary union, but a clear perspective for the future is missing. Drawing on his analysis of European unification as a process in which international treaties have progressively taken on features of a democratic constitution, Habermas explains why the current proposals to transform the system of European governance into one of executive federalism is a mistake. His central argument is that the European project must realize its democratic potential by evolving from an international into a cosmopolitan community. The opening essay on the role played by the concept of human dignity in the genealogy of human rights in the modern era throws further important light on the philosophical foundations of Habermas’s theory of how democratic political institutions can be extended beyond the level of nation-states. Now that the question of Europe and its future is once again at the centre of public debate, this important intervention by one of the greatest thinkers of our time will be of interest to a wide readership.

Competences for democratic culture

Competences for democratic culture
Author: Council of Europe
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 78
Release: 2016-04-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9287182647

A new Council of Europe reference framework of competences for democratic culture! Contemporary societies within Europe face many challenges, including declining levels of voter turnout in elections, increased distrust of politicians, high levels of hate crime, intolerance and prejudice towards minority ethnic and religious groups, and increasing levels of support for violent extremism. These challenges threaten the legitimacy of democratic institutions and peaceful co-existence within Europe. Formal education is a vital tool that can be used to tackle these challenges. Appropriate educational input and practices can boost democratic engagement, reduce intolerance and prejudice, and decrease support for violent extremism. However, to achieve these goals, educationists need a clear understanding of the democratic competences that should be targeted by the curriculum. This book presents a new conceptual model of the competences which citizens require to participate in democratic culture and live peacefully together with others in culturally diverse societies. The model is the product of intensive work over a two-year period, and has been strongly endorsed in an international consultation with leading educational experts. The book describes the competence model in detail, together with the methods used to develop it. The model provides a robust conceptual foundation for the future development of curricula, pedagogies and assessments in democratic citizenship and human rights education. Its application will enable educational systems to be harnessed effectively for the preparation of students for life as engaged and tolerant democratic citizens. The book forms the first component of a new Council of Europe reference framework of competences for democratic culture. It is vital reading for all educational policy makers and practitioners who work in the fields of education for democratic citizenship, human rights education and intercultural education.

The Politics of Diversity in Europe

The Politics of Diversity in Europe
Author: Gavan Titley
Publisher: Council of Europe
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2008-01-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9789287161710

Diversity has become a key term in contemporary social politics, and is often used as both a description of complex social realities and a normative prescription for how those realities should be valued, influenced by the politics of multiculturalism and by social movements asserting "the right to be different" diversity has emerged as an open, fluid discourse that challenges reductive visions of legitimate identities and human possibilities.It is this apparent acceptance of diversity as a fact and value that this book looks at in several ways, it offers a countervailing assessment of diversity, seeing it less as a unifying social imaginary and more as a cost-free form of politics attuned to the needs of late capitalist, consumer societies.The essays collected here are developed from a research seminar entitled "Diversity, Human Rights and Participation" organised by the Partnership on Youth between the Council of Europe and the European Commission. The studies gathered here are embedded in 10 different national contexts. They track dimensions of 'diversity' in education, social services, jurisprudence, parliamentary proceedings and employment initiatives, and assess their significances for the social actors who must negotiate these frameworks in their daily experience.

EU Law in Populist Times

EU Law in Populist Times
Author: Francesca Bignami
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 611
Release: 2020-01-02
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108485081

A state-of-the-art analysis of the contentious areas of EU law that have been put in the spotlight by populism.

Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy and the Future of Democracy

Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy and the Future of Democracy
Author: COUNCIL OF EUROPE.
Publisher:
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2020-09-19
Genre: Democracy
ISBN: 9789287190185

Academic freedom and institutional autonomy are essential for universities to produce the research and teaching necessary to improve society and the human condition. Academic freedom and institutional autonomy are increasingly important components of the development of democracy. At the same time, these fundamental democratic values are subject to pressure in many countries. The relationship between academic freedom, institutional autonomy and democracy is fundamental: it is barely conceivable that they could exist in a society not based on democratic principles, and democracy is enriched when higher education institutions operate on this basis. Higher education institutions need to be imbued with democratic culture and that, in turn, helps to promote democratic values in the wider society. None of these issues are simple and the lines between legitimacy and illegitimacy are sometimes hard to discern, as is illustrated by perspectives from Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and the Mediterranean region.

The Age of Dignity

The Age of Dignity
Author: Catherine Dupré
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2016-02-11
Genre: Law
ISBN: 150990039X

Human dignity is one of the most challenging and exciting ideas for lawyers and political philosophers in the twenty-first century. Even though it is rapidly emerging as a core concept across legal systems, and is the first foundational value of the European Union and its overarching human rights commitment under the Lisbon Treaty, human dignity is still little understood and often mistrusted. Based on extensive comparative and cross-disciplinary research, this path-breaking monograph provides an innovative and critical investigation of human dignity's origins, development and above all its potential at the heart of European constitutionalism today. Grounding its analysis in the connections among human dignity, human rights, constitutional law and democracy, this book argues that human dignity's varied and increasing uses point to a deep transformation of European constitutionalism. At its heart are the construction and protection of constitutional time, and the multi-dimensional definition of humanity as human beings, citizens and workers. Anchored in a detailed comparative study of case law, including the two European supranational courts and domestic constitutional courts, especially those of Germany, the UK, France and Hungary, this monograph argues for a new understanding of European constitutionalism as a form of humanism.

Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member States

Defending Checks and Balances in EU Member States
Author: Armin von Bogdandy
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 478
Release: 2021-01-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 366262317X

This open access book deals with Article 7 TEU measures, court proceedings, financial sanctions and the EU Rule of Law Framework to protect EU values with a particular focus on checks and balances in EU Member States. It analyses substantive standards, powers, procedures as well as the consequences and implications of the various instruments. It combines the analysis of the European level, be it the EU or the Council of Europe, with that of the national level, in particular in Hungary and Poland. The LM judgment of the European Court of Justice is made subject to detailed scrutiny.

Economic Dignity

Economic Dignity
Author: Gene Sperling
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2021-10-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1984879898

“Timely and important . . . It should be our North Star for the recovery and beyond.” —Hillary Clinton “Sperling makes a forceful case that only by speaking to matters of the spirit can liberals root their belief in economic justice in people’s deepest aspirations—in their sense of purpose and self-worth.” —The New York Times When Gene Sperling was in charge of coordinating economic policy in the Obama White House, he found himself surprised when serious people in Washington told him that the Obama focus on health care was a distraction because it was “not focused on the economy.” How, he asked, was the fear felt by millions of Americans of being one serious illness away from financial ruin not considered an economic issue? Too often, Sperling found that we measured economic success by metrics like GDP instead of whether the economy was succeeding in lifting up the sense of meaning, purpose, fulfillment, and security of people. In Economic Dignity, Sperling frames the way forward in a time of wrenching change and offers a vision of an economy whose guiding light is the promotion of dignity for all Americans.