The Invisible Constitution of Politics: Contested Norms and International Encounters

Description

As social practices now frequently extend beyond national boundaries, experiences and expectations about fair and legitimate politics have become increasingly fragmented. Our ability to understand and interpret others and to tolerate difference, rather than overcome diversity, is therefore at risk. This book focuses on the contested meanings of norms in a world of increasing international encounters. The author argues that cultural practices are less visible than organisational practices, but are constitutive for politics and need to be understood and empirically 'accounted' for. Comparing four elite groups in Europe, Antje Wiener shows how this invisible constitution of politics matters. By comparing individual interpretations of norms such as democracy and human rights, she shows how they can mean different things, even to frequently travelling elite groups.

Antje Wiener is Professor of Politics and International Relations in the Department of European Studies and Modern Languages at the University of Bath.

'This book compellingly demonstrates the importance of extending political analysis from attention to formally endorsed norms to a focus on the practical understanding of such norms, and the factors that govern their interpretation within the wider field of political activity. In making this case, Antje Wiener establishes a fundamental research agenda for future studies of the constitutionalisation of European and global politics.' David Owen, Professor of Social and Political Theory, University of Southampton 'Wiener's Invisible Constitution challenges scholars of law, politics and international relations to look beyond the surface of what they see when they study constitutions and constitutional quality beyond the state. Based on extensive empirical research into how officials and other actors interpret and apply norms in transnational contexts, Wiener's work will contribute in significant ways to our understanding of core constitutional norms of non-state entities such as the European Union.' Jo Shaw, Salvesen Chair of European Institutions and Co-Director of the Europa Institute, Edinburgh Law School