Law's Empire of Austerity: De-Politicisation of Economic Decision Making in the Twilight of European Democracy

Transnational Institute, Recommended Reading for State of Power Report 2015

U. of Westminster School of Law Research Paper No. 16-04

9 Pages Posted: 22 Jan 2015 Last revised: 12 Jan 2016

See all articles by Ioannis Glinavos

Ioannis Glinavos

University of Westminster - School of Law

Date Written: January 21, 2015

Abstract

Europe’s unique place in western political economy (previously defined by its commitment to social-democracy) has recently transformed through adherence to a model of development that sees the separation of politics from economics as integral to stability. This report attempts to trace the place of law in defining and distributing power in the era of economic crisis. It suggests that law is being used to restrict policy discretion having an integral part in keeping power vested in corporate elites. The report argues that the crisis can be seen as being the consequence of the dis-embedding of the political from the economic, and it is this distance that causes legal frameworks to operate in unsatisfactory ways. The report concludes that the manipulation of law reform to impose and maintain what the orthodoxy of austerity considers ‘rational’ solutions, undermines the legitimacy of democratic institutions across the Continent and ultimately endangers the European project.

Keywords: Greece, Austerity, Neoliberalism, Europe, Euro, Crisis, Law

JEL Classification: K00, A12, P26, P48

Suggested Citation

Glinavos, Ioannis, Law's Empire of Austerity: De-Politicisation of Economic Decision Making in the Twilight of European Democracy (January 21, 2015). Transnational Institute, Recommended Reading for State of Power Report 2015, U. of Westminster School of Law Research Paper No. 16-04, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2553280 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2553280

Ioannis Glinavos (Contact Author)

University of Westminster - School of Law ( email )

4 Little Titchfield Street
London, England W1W 7UW
United Kingdom

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