This book posits the possibility of a reasons-based account of the European integration process. The book pursues the force of public reason in getting to agreement beyond the nation state and spells out the fundamentals of the European integration process, theorizing the mechanisms that brought the European Union (EU) into existence. The book combines insights from social and political theory, law, and political science in setting out a novel theory of European integration and reconstructing the normative foundation of the EU. It goes on to establish the problem of arbitrary rule (dominance) created by political differentiation, examines the place of democracy in the multilevel constellation that makes up the EU, and proposes a set of democratic reforms. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of EU studies, European integration, democracy, and international political theory/philosophy.
