Monograph
Europe's Functional Constitution: A Theory of Constitutionalism beyond the State (Oxford University Press, May 2016).
Constitutionalism has become a byword for legitimate government, but is it fated to lose its relevance as constitutional states relinquish power to international institutions? My book evaluates the extent to which constitutionalism, as an empirical idea and normative ideal, can be adapted to institutions beyond the state by surveying the sophisticated legal and political system of the European Union. Having originated in a series of agreements between states, the EU has acquired important constitutional features like judicial review, protections for individual rights, and a hierarchy of norms. Nonetheless, it confounds traditional models of constitutional rule to the extent that its claim to authority rests on the promise of economic prosperity and technocratic competence rather than on the democratic will of citizens.
Critically appraising the European Union and its legal system, I develop the concept of 'functional constitutionalism' to describe this distinctive configuration of public power. Understanding this pragmatic mode of constitutional authority is essential for assessing contemporary international economic governance.
Articles
"The state at stake," European Journal of Political Theory, Online First (8 May 2025), pp.1-14
(with Thomas Pepinsky) "Voting in authoritarian regimes," American Political Science Review, First View (14 March 2025), pp.1-16
"Unpacking the beast of burden: Joerges on the political, constitutional, and epistemological baggage of European integration," European Law Open (January 2025), pp.1-16
"Cosmopolitanism and international economic institutions," The Journal of Politics 82:1 (January 2020), pp.211-224
"Corporate human rights claims under the European Convention on Human Rights," Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy 17 (January 2019), pp.979-1005
"European exceptionalism and the EU's accession to the ECHR," European Journal of International Law 27:3 (Fall 2016), pp.565-589
"The Rights of Man and the rights of the man-made: Corporations and human rights," Human Rights Quarterly 38:2 (May 2016), pp.294-349
"Between text and context: Turkey's tradition of authoritarian constitutionalism," International Journal of Constitutional Law, 11:3 (July 2013), pp.702-726
“Global legal pluralism as fact and norm,” Global Constitutionalism 2:3 (July 2013), pp.160-195
(with Anne Thies), “Introduction,” Global Constitutionalism 2:3 (July 2013), pp. 151-159
“On Europe’s functional constitutionalism: towards a constitutional theory of specialized international regimes,” Constellations 19:1 (2012).
“Fundamental rights in the EU after Kadi and Al Barakaat,” European Law Journal 16:5 (September 2010), pp.551-577
(with Seyla Benhabib) “Ancient battles, new prejudices, and future perspectives: Turkey and the EU,” Constellations 13:2 (June 2006), pp.218-233
Chapters in edited volumes
“Regional integration,” in Richard Bellamy and Jeff King (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2024)
“Pretextual politics and democratic inclusion: Comment on Darby,” in Melissa Schwartzberg and Daniel Viehoff (eds), Democratic Failure. NOMOS LXIII (NYU Press, 2020)
"Democracy-eroding multilateralism in the European Union," in Nadia Urbinati (ed), Thinking Democracy Now: Between Innovation and Regression (Milan: Feltrinelli, 2019)
"Constitutionalism as limitation and license: Crisis governance in the European Union," in Tom Ginsburg, Mark D. Rosen, and Georg Vanberg (eds) Constitutions in Times of Financial Crisis (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
"Square peg, round hole: Why the EU can't fix identity politics," in Uta Staiger and Benjamin Martill (eds), Brexit and Beyond: Rethinking the Futures of Europe (UCL Press, 2018)
“How transformative is the European Project?”, in Miguel Poiares Maduro and Marlene Wind (eds), The Transformation of Europe. Twenty-Five Years On (Cambridge University Press, 2017)
"The dream of a commercial peace," in Luuk van Middelaar and Philippe van Parijs (eds), After the Storm: How to Save Democracy in Europe (Tielt: Lannoo, 2015)
“Citizens of a new agora: Postnational citizenship and international economic institutions,” in Willem Maas (ed.), Multilevel Citizenship (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013)
“International Institutions,” in Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought, ed. Michael T. Gibbons et al. (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014)
Working papers
“A methodology of international political theory” (click here to request a draft)
"Corporations as rights-bearers" (click here to request a draft)
"Import, export, and deport: The polity-building role of mobility rights" (click here to request a draft)
"Do we still need popular sovereignty?" (click here to request a draft)
Blog posts and interviews
"Civil society institutions under authoritarian encroachment," NYU Law Democracy Project, October 2, 2025
"We are professors at Columbia. Here is how we would respond," Drezner's World, March 17, 2025 (with Allison Carnegie, Virginia Page Fortna, Maria Victoria Murillo, and Elizabeth Nathan Saunders)
"Europa is blijven steken in plan B" Trouw, March 3, 2018
"Did Turkey's Democracy Devour Itself?" Dissent, April 18, 2017
"Prepare for Regime Change, Not Policy Change" Dissent, November 13, 2016
"5 Questions on the Unrest in Turkey" Columbia News, July 20, 2016
"The British people have spoken. But what exactly did they say?" Monkey Cage / The Washington Post, July 1, 2016
"Justice Deficit or Justice Deficient?" Verfassungsblog, June 24, 2015
"Turkey's Silenced Spring" Monkey Cage / The Washington Post, March 24, 2014
Book reviews
Review of What is Populism? Jan-Werner Muller (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), Perspectives on Politics 15:2 (June 2017), pp. 605-8
Review of Representing Justice, Judith Resnik & Dennis Curtis (Yale University Press, 2011), Contemporary Political Theory 12:4 (November 2013), electronic version.
Review of Power and Legitimacy: Reconciling Europe and the Nation-State, Peter Lindseth (Oxford University Press, 2010), European Constitutional Law Review 8:1 (February 2012), pp.128-138
Europe's Functional Constitution: A Theory of Constitutionalism beyond the State (Oxford University Press, May 2016).
Constitutionalism has become a byword for legitimate government, but is it fated to lose its relevance as constitutional states relinquish power to international institutions? My book evaluates the extent to which constitutionalism, as an empirical idea and normative ideal, can be adapted to institutions beyond the state by surveying the sophisticated legal and political system of the European Union. Having originated in a series of agreements between states, the EU has acquired important constitutional features like judicial review, protections for individual rights, and a hierarchy of norms. Nonetheless, it confounds traditional models of constitutional rule to the extent that its claim to authority rests on the promise of economic prosperity and technocratic competence rather than on the democratic will of citizens.
Critically appraising the European Union and its legal system, I develop the concept of 'functional constitutionalism' to describe this distinctive configuration of public power. Understanding this pragmatic mode of constitutional authority is essential for assessing contemporary international economic governance.
- Click here to download the introduction.
- Click here for a free Kindle preview.
- Click here to purchase on Amazon.
Articles
"The state at stake," European Journal of Political Theory, Online First (8 May 2025), pp.1-14
(with Thomas Pepinsky) "Voting in authoritarian regimes," American Political Science Review, First View (14 March 2025), pp.1-16
"Unpacking the beast of burden: Joerges on the political, constitutional, and epistemological baggage of European integration," European Law Open (January 2025), pp.1-16
"Cosmopolitanism and international economic institutions," The Journal of Politics 82:1 (January 2020), pp.211-224
"Corporate human rights claims under the European Convention on Human Rights," Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy 17 (January 2019), pp.979-1005
"European exceptionalism and the EU's accession to the ECHR," European Journal of International Law 27:3 (Fall 2016), pp.565-589
"The Rights of Man and the rights of the man-made: Corporations and human rights," Human Rights Quarterly 38:2 (May 2016), pp.294-349
"Between text and context: Turkey's tradition of authoritarian constitutionalism," International Journal of Constitutional Law, 11:3 (July 2013), pp.702-726
“Global legal pluralism as fact and norm,” Global Constitutionalism 2:3 (July 2013), pp.160-195
(with Anne Thies), “Introduction,” Global Constitutionalism 2:3 (July 2013), pp. 151-159
“On Europe’s functional constitutionalism: towards a constitutional theory of specialized international regimes,” Constellations 19:1 (2012).
“Fundamental rights in the EU after Kadi and Al Barakaat,” European Law Journal 16:5 (September 2010), pp.551-577
(with Seyla Benhabib) “Ancient battles, new prejudices, and future perspectives: Turkey and the EU,” Constellations 13:2 (June 2006), pp.218-233
Chapters in edited volumes
“Regional integration,” in Richard Bellamy and Jeff King (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2024)
“Pretextual politics and democratic inclusion: Comment on Darby,” in Melissa Schwartzberg and Daniel Viehoff (eds), Democratic Failure. NOMOS LXIII (NYU Press, 2020)
"Democracy-eroding multilateralism in the European Union," in Nadia Urbinati (ed), Thinking Democracy Now: Between Innovation and Regression (Milan: Feltrinelli, 2019)
"Constitutionalism as limitation and license: Crisis governance in the European Union," in Tom Ginsburg, Mark D. Rosen, and Georg Vanberg (eds) Constitutions in Times of Financial Crisis (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
"Square peg, round hole: Why the EU can't fix identity politics," in Uta Staiger and Benjamin Martill (eds), Brexit and Beyond: Rethinking the Futures of Europe (UCL Press, 2018)
“How transformative is the European Project?”, in Miguel Poiares Maduro and Marlene Wind (eds), The Transformation of Europe. Twenty-Five Years On (Cambridge University Press, 2017)
"The dream of a commercial peace," in Luuk van Middelaar and Philippe van Parijs (eds), After the Storm: How to Save Democracy in Europe (Tielt: Lannoo, 2015)
“Citizens of a new agora: Postnational citizenship and international economic institutions,” in Willem Maas (ed.), Multilevel Citizenship (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013)
“International Institutions,” in Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Thought, ed. Michael T. Gibbons et al. (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014)
Working papers
“A methodology of international political theory” (click here to request a draft)
"Corporations as rights-bearers" (click here to request a draft)
"Import, export, and deport: The polity-building role of mobility rights" (click here to request a draft)
"Do we still need popular sovereignty?" (click here to request a draft)
Blog posts and interviews
"Civil society institutions under authoritarian encroachment," NYU Law Democracy Project, October 2, 2025
"We are professors at Columbia. Here is how we would respond," Drezner's World, March 17, 2025 (with Allison Carnegie, Virginia Page Fortna, Maria Victoria Murillo, and Elizabeth Nathan Saunders)
"Europa is blijven steken in plan B" Trouw, March 3, 2018
"Did Turkey's Democracy Devour Itself?" Dissent, April 18, 2017
"Prepare for Regime Change, Not Policy Change" Dissent, November 13, 2016
"5 Questions on the Unrest in Turkey" Columbia News, July 20, 2016
"The British people have spoken. But what exactly did they say?" Monkey Cage / The Washington Post, July 1, 2016
"Justice Deficit or Justice Deficient?" Verfassungsblog, June 24, 2015
"Turkey's Silenced Spring" Monkey Cage / The Washington Post, March 24, 2014
Book reviews
Review of What is Populism? Jan-Werner Muller (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), Perspectives on Politics 15:2 (June 2017), pp. 605-8
Review of Representing Justice, Judith Resnik & Dennis Curtis (Yale University Press, 2011), Contemporary Political Theory 12:4 (November 2013), electronic version.
Review of Power and Legitimacy: Reconciling Europe and the Nation-State, Peter Lindseth (Oxford University Press, 2010), European Constitutional Law Review 8:1 (February 2012), pp.128-138
