A GJ Advances article.

Abstract

How to institutionalize human rights correctly under conditions of globalization? Through establishing autonomous powerful institutions the states of the conflict-ridden European continent have domesticated international relations among themselves. However, juridification and executive dominance prevails and the lingering question is whether the ensuing order can be legitimate. This is examined with regard to the recent attempts to bring basic rights and democracy to bear on the European Union. Neither the Charter nor the Constitutional Convention indicated that the EU would develop into a democratic state. The EU is not a nation, nor is it a state. Rather it can be seen as a regional cosmopolitan entity. The multilevel constellation that makes up the EU can amount to a governmental structure in which supranational authorities monitor the conduct of lower levels on the basis of a set of normative principles.

Recommended Citation

Eriksen, Erik Oddvar (2009) "The EU: A Cosmopolitan Vanguard?," Global Jurist: Vol. 9 : Iss. 1 (Advances), Article 6.
DOI: 10.2202/1934-2640.1304
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/gj/vol9/iss1/art6