Original scientific paper
LEGAL NATIONHOOD AND SOCIAL NATIONHOOD — RELATIVIZING OR STRENGTHENING THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLE IN CONSTITUTIONAL STATES?
Klaus Dicke
; University of Jena, Jena, Germany
Abstract
The author analyses the relationship among legal nationhood, social nationhood, and democracy in democratic constitutional states. After identifying the definitions of democratic constitutional state, he concludes that it is an efficient structures within which one can investigate the relationship among democracy, legal and social nationhood. He suggests that these three principles have their normative roots in human freedom i.e. in the freedom of participating in political negotiation, in the freedom from coercion and unjust rule, in the freedom from exigency, and in the free participation in the “we” of the modern industrial, technological and information society. And finally, the author analyses the tension between the legal and social nationhood which may be fruitful only if democracy contributes to the accomplishment of major social changes that maximise human freedom.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
32305
URI
Publication date:
3.9.1998.
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