The crisis of the European Union : a response / Jürgen Habermas ; translated by Ciaran Cronin.

First pub. in German as: Zur Verfassung Europas. Berlin : Suhrkamp Verlag, 2011.

Includes bibliographical references (page 140).

The crisis of the European Union in light of a constitutionalization of international law : an essay on the Constitution of Europe. I. Why Europe is now more than ever a constitutional project ; II. The European Union must decide between transnational democracy and post-democratic executive federalism ; III. From the international to the cosmopolitan community -- The concept of human dignity and the realistic utopia of human rights -- Appendix: The Europe of the Federal Republic. I: After the bankruptcy : an interview ; II: The euro will decide the fate of the European Union ; III: A pact for or against Europe?

Extended essay on the constitution for Europe which represents the author's constructive engagement with the European project at a time when the crisis of the euro zone is threatening the very existence of the European Union. He addresses the 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. Using his analysis of European unification as a process in which international treaties have progressively taken on features of a democratic constitution, he explains why the current proposals to transform the system of European governance into one of executive federalism is a mistake. Europe must realize its democratic potential by evolving from an international into a cosmopolitan community. The concept of human dignity in the genealogy of human rights in the modern era throws further important light on the philosophical foundations of his argument and how democratic political institutions can be extended beyond the level of nation-state.