"What is Political Union?" (Alexander Somek) in the German Law Journal Special Issue: Regeneration Europe

The German Law Journal, edited by network members Russell Miller (W&L) and Peer Zumbansen (Osgoode), has put out a special issue on the topic "Regeneration Europe."  It includes a contribution by network member Alexander Somek (Iowa) entitled "What is Political Union?"  The abstract is below and the full article can be downloaded here.

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Recent proposals to fix Europe’s ailing monetary union have led some to endorse a stronger fiscal union. Such a fiscal union, which would supposedly comprise stronger budgetary supervision as well as a modicum of revenue collection by the Union itself, is taken to mark the step towards “political” union. The article explores the question of what, if anything, is understood by “political” in this context. After distinguishing three possible meanings of political union, the article argues that a true union of this kind would rest its focus on the form of life that can be sustained among Europeans. Surprisingly perhaps, the article concludes that less centralization and unwinding monetary union in its current form may well be more congenial to a political union than hectic bids for fiscal centralization.