A social theory of constitutional imaginaries : beyond the unity of 'topos-ethnos-nomos' and its European context

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the concept of constitutional imaginaries and their classic legitimation semantics of topos-ethnos-nomos. Constitutional imaginaries are considered internal symbolic constructs of self-constituted positive law and politics which make it possible to describe functionally differentiated modern society as one polity and distinguish between legal and political legitimacies and illegitimacies in this polity. They are not limited by the unity of topos-ethnos-nomos and evolve in national as well as supranational and transnational constitutions. In the context of European constitutionalism, general imaginaries of common market, universal rights, and democratic power are thus accompanied by specific imaginaries of European integration through economic performativity, social engineering, legal pluralism, and political mobilization. These imaginaries show that political constitutions include a poietic societal force impossible to contain by autopoietic legal norms and political institutions.