Bulletin n. 1/2017
June 2017
INDICE
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • André José Gomes
    American lessons: legitimacy, federalism and the construction of a European compound polity
    in European Union Politics , vol. 18, n. 3, special issue "Europe in Times of Crisis. Political Legitimacy and Crisis Management in the European Union" ,  2017 ,  333-347
    This paper aims to reaffirm the viability of the federalist option for a united Europe, comparing nowadays Europe with the building of the USA. It shows how the scenario that the American people experienced when their federation was framed is similar to present-day Europe: social and cultural differences between the states, dissent among the political elite, an ineffective constitutional framework and doubts about the federal model. Those differences were settled by means of institutional mechanisms that established a project of reasonable consensus. Contrary to the ventilated fear of a European super-state, federalism does not imply that members of the federation merge into a homogenizing political structure. Instead, it allows different political entities to be bound into a common whole. Such a union must have a gravity centre to hold them together, but implies also a wide set of complementary powers. The federation is a system of joint political action, that should combine a brief constitution stating common values and purposes, and a method for ratification similar to the one adopted in the USA (special ratifying state conventions). A truly federal system would allow Europe to integrate its social and cultural diversity in a system of political procedures with popular legitimation.
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