PROJECTS

This project, which is titled Defending Democracy in the European Union: A Socio-Legal Approach to the European Institutions, examines how the European Union (EU) defends itself against threats to the rule of law in the territory of its member-states and its neighboring states, especially those who seek accession to its institutions. Building on previous projects, including workshops with EU law scholars on the democratic empowerment of citizens in Europe, this project was awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) a grant to conduct a multi-methods investigation that combines interview-based methods, non-participant observation, and archival research in the key EU institutions. With Christin Tonne, a postdoctoral researcher, I will write a monograph on how a transnational coalition of activists, commissioners and scholars have defended the rule of law in Europe, and how they have understood that concept. I will also go back in time, especially in the interwar period, to compare the current era with how colonial practitioners in the League of Nations Minority and Mandate Commissions have monitored how Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean region implemented the rule of law in these territories.