Quasi-National European Identity and European Democracy

Democracy may well be the primary virtue of political systems. Yet European politics is marked by a democracy deficit that will not disappear spontaneously. While legal and political theory on this issue is dominated by supporters of civic institutionalism and constitutional republicanism, liberal nationalists seem to be split. They justify the civic nationhood of member states, but they shrink away from the idea of a European people. This essay claims that a quasi-national conception of European identity can be conducive to the rise of a democratic political union of Europe. It discusses the mechanisms and rules for Europeanization of the sense of equal dignity and solidarity. This approach to supranational identity is explicitly instrumental and orientated towards the long run. However, the main liberal objections against it can be countered.     

European Citizenship: Towards a European Identity?

Questions of political identity and citizenship, raised by thecreation of the `new Europe', pose new questions that politicaltheorists need to consider. Reflection upon the circumstances ofthe new Europe could help them in their task of delineatingconceptual structures and investigating the character ofpolitical argument.

Does it make sense to use concepts as `citizenship' and`identity' beyond the borders of the nation-state? What does itmean when we speak about `European Citizenship' and `EuropeanIdentity'?

It is argued that the pluralism that has led theorists tooffer a conception of citizenship based upon principles of right,rather that the common good, applies even more strongly at thelevel of the European political order. Developing a contractariantheory of federation, an account of the basis of a Europeancitizenship will be offered in which federalism emerges out of anoverlapping consensus of European citizens on the terms of theirpolitical association.

`European Citizenship' and `European Identity' are discussedin the context of the so-called `European Union', and not in thewider context of Europe `as a whole', or for that matter on aneven broader `cosmopolitan' scale. However, the gist of the articleis that arguments for concepts of `citizenship' and `identity'that go beyond borders of nation-states and that are applied tothe `European Union', could have implications for an even widerapplication.

Finally, and in conclusion, the (empirical) context will beelaborated in which the normative concept of shared liberalcitizenship identity should be realized on a pan-national,European level.

     

European Union Constitution-Making, Political Identity and Central European Reflections

Abstract: This article focuses on the European Union's constitution‐making efforts and their specific reflections in the Central European accession states. It analyses both the temporal and spatial dimensions of constitution‐making and addresses the problems of political identity related to ethnic divisions and civic demos. It starts by summarising the major arguments supporting the Union's constitution‐making project and emphasises the Union's symbolic power as a polity built on the principles of civil society and parliamentary democracy. The EU's official rejection of ethnically based political identity played an important symbolic role in post‐Communist constitutional and legal transformations in Central Europe in the 1990s. In the following part, the text analyses the temporal dimension of the EU's identity‐building and constitution‐making and emphasises its profoundly future‐oriented structure. The concept of identity as the ‘future in process’ is the only option of how to deal with the absence of the European demos. Furthermore, it initiates the politically much‐needed constitution‐making process. The following spatial analysis of this process emphasises positive aspects of the horizontal model of constitution‐making, its elements in the Convention's deliberation and their positive effect on the Central European accession states. The article concludes by understanding the emerging European identity as a multi‐level identity of civil political virtues surrounded by old loyalties and traditions, which supports the conversational model of liberal democratic politics, reflects the continent's heterogeneity and leads to the beneficial combination of universal principles and political realism.     

'Food for Thought': Reconciling European Risks and Traditional Ways of Life

The European Food Safety Authority marks a new stage in European Union governance. It has no direct regulatory powers, but is entrusted with developing norms of food safety, which are to inform the material content of EC food law. The hope is that its independence and expertise will restore popular confidence both in the EU and in the food we eat. The irreducible nature of lay-expert conflicts about hazard suggests that a more likely scenario is that such disputes become recast as opposition to EC law. Such conflict is most likely to manifest itself in national courts through challenges to or non-compliance with EC law. The current principles for resolution of such conflicts are hopelessly outmoded. The article, therefore, argues for a constitutional resettlement, which sets out principles germane to the nature of the EC regime, namely that of a multi-level regulatory State. It argues for a new defence of regulatory balance. Individuals could argue for the disapplication of EC norms where these violated a valued local regime which had given consideration to the issues raised in the EC legislation and whose positive value to its subjects exceeded its negative impact on the interests protected by the EC legislation.     

In Search of a European Identity

Jacques Derridu, The Other Heading: Reflections on Today's Europe , translated by P-A Brault and M. Naas     

Reconciling Independence and accountability at the European Central Bank: The false promise of Proceduralism

This article revisits the balancing act between independence and accountability at the European Central Bank (ECB). It contrasts procedural and substantive concepts of accountability, and challenges the mainstream idea that independence and accountability can be reconciled through narrow mandates, the indiscriminate increase of transparency, the creation of multiple channels of accountability, and the active use of judicial review. These assumptions form the pillars of a procedural type of accountability that promises to resolve the independence/accountability dilemma but fails to do so in practice. The article brings evidence to show how ECB accountability has become a complex administrative exercise that focuses on the procedural steps leading up to monetary and supervisory decisions while simultaneously limiting substantive accountability. The failure to acknowledge the trade‐off between independence and accountability (said to be ‘two sides of the same coin’) has resulted in a tendency to privilege the former over the latter.     

How can one be European? Reflections on the Pillars of European Civic Identity

Abstract:  The citizenship of the EU is not only a set of rights, but also of civic behaviours and representations. In this article, I analyse these moral and sociological foundations of EU citizenship, stressing the limits of classic interpretations in terms of 'identification to' or 'support for' the EU. Instead, I suggest reading the evolution of EU citizenship as a process of political recognition. Such an analytical framework, inspired by recent works of Axel Honneth and Paul Ricoeur, leads one to understand this process as a threefold evolution: critical assessment of one's own national identity; transformation of the perception of other nationalities; and identification to the EU. Such a reading also compels us to pay attention to the limits of these processes: mutual recognition is an unending process which does not exclude the persistence of nationalistic reactions, hegemonic temptation and the revival of xenophobic attitudes vis-à-vis other Member States and third countries. I conclude that any project to render EU identity thicker needs to take care of the risk of jeopardising the fragile acquis.     

Digital identity,privacy and the right to identity in the United States of America

This article analyses digital identity as an emergent legal concept in the United States of America, as a consequence of the move to place all federal government services on-line. The features and functions of digital identity and its legal nature are examined, and the consequences are considered.     

Automated consent through privacy agents: Legal requirements and technical architecture

The changes imposed by new information technologies, especially pervasive computing and the Internet, require a deep reflection on the fundamental values underlying privacy and the best way to achieve their protection. The explicit consent of the data subject, which is a cornerstone of most data protection regulations, is a typical example of requirement which is very difficult to put into practice in the new world of “pervasive computing” where many data communications necessarily occur without the users' notice. In this paper, we argue that an architecture based on “Privacy Agents” can make privacy rights protection more effective, provided however that this architecture meets a number of legal requirements to ensure the validity of consent delivered through such Privacy Agents. We first present a legal analysis of consent considering successively (1) its nature; (2) its essential features (qualities and defects) and (3) its formal requirements. Then we draw the lessons of this legal analysis for the design of a valid architecture based on Privacy Agents. To conclude, we suggest an implementation of this architecture proposed in a multidisciplinary project involving lawyers and computer scientists.     

Preserving the Identity Crisis: Autonomy,System and Sovereignty in European Law

This article uses Hans Kelsen's theory of a legalsystem to take a fresh look at European Community law,and the relationship between the European Community,its Member States, and international law. It arguesthat the basis of the Community's legal legitimacy isindeterminate, and offers a model to accommodate thatindeterminacy. This model is founded on aconstructivist approach suggested to be particularlyuseful in the EC context. Using this approach, it isargued that the concepts of system, autonomy andsovereignty in the Community can only be understoodthrough the recognition of a plurality of viewpoints,and that it is crucial, in describing the Community,to distinguish between a concept per se and thechoice to adopt that concept.     

拟像抑或真实:数字主体的身份确认

数字主体是生命实体的数据化,它是平台根据需要通过算法建构的身份虚体。数字主体是技术主体,它以身份虚体的方式代行生命实体的职能,因此,它只是功能性存在,而不是实体性存在,是数字世界的伪主体,真正的主体应是作为生命实体存在的现实主体。然而,由于数字世界的虚拟化,数字世界的真正主宰既不是生命实体,也不是身份虚体,而是平台、算法和资本。对数字主体的身份确认,就是重思人的主体性,强化生命实体在虚实二重世界中的主体地位。个体既不能因权力让渡而沦为网络技术的附庸,也不能以技术为借口推卸自己的网络责任。     

Beyond CSI: Calibrating public beliefs about the reliability of forensic science through openness and transparency

What drives public beliefs about the credibility of a scientific field? This question is increasingly important, with recent discussion of a “reproducibility crisis” affecting many fields. Such discussions are vital in forensic science, a discipline that has experienced severe scrutiny from both the media and large oversight bodies. In this paper, we make three contributions to this discussion. First, we bring together and compare several studies in which laypeople were asked about the reliability of forensic science practices. This review suggests that forensic practices do not enjoy uniformly high reliability ratings from the public and these ratings are not calibrated with the scientific consensus. We then review three empirically-tested ways that other fields are dealing with their own crises, all centred around transparency and openness. Finally, we make recommendations for how forensic science can leverage transparency and openness to improve and maintain its long-term credibility. As part of these recommendations, we find that empirical research supports the Houston Forensic Science Center’s recent claims that it has improved its credibility through openness and transparency.     

Reconciling psychopathy and low self-control

Although both reflect a self-centered, antisocial personality, psychopathy and low self-control have seldom been examined together. This study created scales reflecting both common and unique elements of both constructs, investigated their factor structure, and explained variance in delinquency. Four alternative hypotheses were tested: that low self-control and psychopathy constitute a single construct, that they constitute primary and secondary psychopathy or interpersonal and intrapersonal traits, or that they constitute Antisociality—the tendency to perform antisocial acts—and (low) Self-Direction—the tendency to act in one's long-term beneft. Models containing Antisociality and Self-Direction fit better than alternatives and accounted for substantial variance in offending.     

The Digital Economy Act 2010: subscriber monitoring and the right to privacy under Article 8 of the ECHR

This paper critically assesses the compatibility of s3 Digital Economy Act 2010 (DEA) with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) (ECHR). The analysis draws on Ofcom’s Initial Obligations and two UK cases, namely: British Telecommunications Plc & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills,¹1 British Telecommunications Plc & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills [2011] EWHC 1021 (Admin).View all notes and R (British Telecommunications plc and TalkTalk Telecom Group plc) v Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and others.²2 R (British Telecommunications plc and TalkTalk Telecom Group plc) v Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and others [2012] EWCA Civ 232.View all notes It argues that the implementation of this obligation allows directed surveillance of subscribers’ activities without legal authorisation under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). It also analyses compliance with the Strasbourg Court’s three-part, non-cumulative test, to determine whether s3 of the DEA is, firstly, ‘in accordance with the law’; secondly, pursues one or more legitimate aims contained within Article 8(2) of the Convention; and thirdly, is ‘necessary’ and ‘proportionate’. It concludes that unless the implementation of s3 of the DEA required the involvement of State authorities and was specifically targeted at serious, commercial scale online copyright infringement cases it could infringe part one and part three of the ECtHR’s test, thereby violating subscribers’ Article 8 ECHR rights.