Conditions for EU constitutionalization: a qualitative comparative analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article probes the conditions conducive to the constitutionalization of the European Union: under what conditions have the powers of the European Parliament been extended and the institutionalization of human rights progressed? Based on the assumption that the constitutionalization of the EU is best understood as the outcome of strategic action in a community environment, we argue that progress in constitutionalization depends on the salience of the EU's democracy deficit, the coherence of demands for constitutionalization with extant EU or external norms, and the publicity of negotiations and deliberations. We test this constitutionalization hypothesis in a qualitative comparative analysis offering a systematic diachronic and synchronic comparison of sixty-six constitutional decisions between 1951 and 2004 across different areas of parliamentary competence and human rights issues. The findings corroborate the constitutionalization hypothesis and suggest that salience and, more recently, coherence are the most relevant conditions of EU constitutionalization.