Sovereignty and the European Union: an enduringly awkward fit

Neil Walker

Chapter 13 in Research Handbook on the Law and Politics of Sovereignty, 2026, pp 219-236 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter examines the complex and often fraught relationship between sovereignty and the European Union (EU), since its inception as a supranational entity conceived as transcending the traditional limits of sovereign nation-states. Conceptually, historically, normatively, and materially, the EU has not replicated the attributes of state sovereignty but has instead sought to reimagine political relations beyond the state. The chapter provides an account of how this complex relationship plays out both within the internal structure of the EU – where sovereignty is contested between member states and the supranational level – and in its external relations, where the EU must navigate a predominantly state-centred global order.

Keywords: European Union (EU); State-centred global order; Supranationalism; Nation-states (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781803926346
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