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The Limited Modesty of Subsidiarity
Author(s) -
Barber N. W.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
european law journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.351
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1468-0386
pISSN - 1351-5993
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0386.2005.00261.x
Subject(s) - subsidiarity , democracy , doctrine , political science , european integration , european union , law and economics , law , public administration , sociology , economics , politics , international trade
This paper provides an account of the European principle of subsidiarity that presents it as a principle of democratic structuring: engaging both with the allocation of powers to existing democratic institutions and with the creation of new democratic institutions. In the process of discussing the European principle, a contrast is drawn with the Catholic principle of subsidiarity and with the rival doctrine of national self‐determination. It is argued that the European principle is a central part of the Union's constitutional identity, and, as such, crucial to an understanding of the European project.