Description
Karen Alter's work on the European Court of Justice heralded a new level of sophistication in the political analysis of the controversial institution, through its combination of legal understanding and active engagement with theoretical questions. The European Court's Political Power assembles the most important of Alter's articles written over a fourteen year span, adding an original new introduction and a conclusion that takes an overview of the Court's development and current concerns. Together the articles provide insight into the historical and political contours of the ECJ's influence on European politics, explaining how and why the impact of an institution can vary so greatly over time and access different issues. The book starts with the European Coal and Steel Community, where the ECJ was largely unable to facilitate greater member state respect for ECSC rules. Alter then shows how legal actors orchestrated an activist transformation of the European legal system, with the critical aid of jurist advocacy movements, and via the co-optation of national courts. The transformation of the European legal system wrested control from member states over the meaning of European law, but the ECJ continues to have varying influence across different issues. Alter explains that the differing influence of the ECJ comes from the varied extent to which sub- and supra-national actors turn to it to achieve political objectives. Looking beyond the European experience, the book includes four chapters that put the ECJ into a comparative perspective, examining the extent to which the ECJ experience is a unique harbinger of the future role international courts may play in international and comparative politics.
About the Author
Karen J. Alter is Associate Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University. She is the author of Establishing the Supremacy of European Law: The Making of an International Rule of Law in Europe (OUP: 2001).
Reviews
Spanning the last fifteen years, one of the most recognized and respected scholars of the European Court of Justice has brought together between two covers many of her most important papers. Alter's deeply contextualized understanding of the Court dissents from both specific legal doctrinal analysis that tends to overlook political conflicts and overly general social scientific generalizations that breezily bypass a deeply grounded understanding of the politics of European law. An additional virtue of this outstanding collection is its comparative perspective on the European court and its recognition of broader international developments to which the Court may have given rise. Among both scholars and practitioners this book should find a large and avid readership. * Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies, Cornell University *
If political scientists and international lawyers were to read only one book on the European Court of Justice, this should be the one. * Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School *
Karen Alter has done more than any other scholar to show how the social, political, and historical context in which the European Court of Justice is embedded shapes its role and impact. The four thresholds that she identifies also provide a basic for a comparative analysis of the role of international courts in world politics. With its lucid new introduction,The European Court's Political Power is a "must read" for anyone seeking to understand international courts. * Robert O. Keohane, Professor of International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University *
The aim of Alter's book is to strengthen her contribution to our understanding of how international courts can impact on policy making at both the national and international level...Alter's book is a must-read for anyone concerned with the process of translating international law into social and political reality * Marie-Pierre Granger, Central European University, The Modern Law Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780199595143
Author Karen Alter
Format Paperback
Page Count 350
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 570g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 157mm * 21mm
About the Author
Karen J. Alter is Associate Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University. She is the author of Establishing the Supremacy of European Law: The Making of an International Rule of Law in Europe (OUP: 2001).
Reviews
Spanning the last fifteen years, one of the most recognized and respected scholars of the European Court of Justice has brought together between two covers many of her most important papers. Alter's deeply contextualized understanding of the Court dissents from both specific legal doctrinal analysis that tends to overlook political conflicts and overly general social scientific generalizations that breezily bypass a deeply grounded understanding of the politics of European law. An additional virtue of this outstanding collection is its comparative perspective on the European court and its recognition of broader international developments to which the Court may have given rise. Among both scholars and practitioners this book should find a large and avid readership. * Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies, Cornell University *
If political scientists and international lawyers were to read only one book on the European Court of Justice, this should be the one. * Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School *
Karen Alter has done more than any other scholar to show how the social, political, and historical context in which the European Court of Justice is embedded shapes its role and impact. The four thresholds that she identifies also provide a basic for a comparative analysis of the role of international courts in world politics. With its lucid new introduction,The European Court's Political Power is a "must read" for anyone seeking to understand international courts. * Robert O. Keohane, Professor of International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University *
The aim of Alter's book is to strengthen her contribution to our understanding of how international courts can impact on policy making at both the national and international level...Alter's book is a must-read for anyone concerned with the process of translating international law into social and political reality * Marie-Pierre Granger, Central European University, The Modern Law Review *
Book Information
ISBN 9780199595143
Author Karen Alter
Format Paperback
Page Count 350
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 570g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 157mm * 21mm
