On the new German ideology

Abstract: The dominant constitutional ideology in post-war Europe is based on a fear of democracy, constituent power, and popular sovereignty, and a desire for political and economic stability. Constitutional relations are transformed over time through a mixture of political authoritarianism and economic liberalism, in a combination of domestic and supranational developments. The transformation also has a utopian dimension, and outlining its utopianism can help identify its ideological character. It is captured by such related terms as ‘post-politics’, ‘post-nationalism’, ‘post-sovereignty’, and ‘the end of history’. These terms all point to the way in which authoritarian liberalism is maintained not only—and perhaps not even predominantly—through coercion and consent but also in the grey area in between, namely through practices and beliefs that suggest politics can be transcended and the medium of law can reign supreme. We may call this the new German ideology. It has gradually come to dominate the European constitutional imagination. Although it was unsettled after Maastricht and entered a critical phase after the financial crisis, the new German ideology remains relatively resilient. It benefits from the acquiescence of a critical theory that has lost its moorings and a political system that is able to incorporate aspects of authoritarian populism, even as the centre ground appears increasingly unstable.