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First published in 1998, this volume aims to draw attention to an ongoing shift in the perception of law, which is now increasingly understood as a cultural and historical phenomenon. As other such phenomena – like music, literature, or art – it is acknowledged that it is created in a specific environment, on which it is dependent for its functioning and interpretation.The historical aspects of love in a European and Nordic context are underlined, as well as the modern understanding of love and law as incompatible and contrasting concepts. Developments within the European Union and especially the relation of the EU to so called third country nationals and immigrants demonstrate that the problematic concerning law and love is not only one of legal philosophy but also of legal and everyday reality.The claim that love has been specifically ‘European'is discarded as Eurocentrist, and the need for more particular emotions and a more pragmatic approach to romantic feelings, for a ‘reasonable love'is discussed from legal, feminist and philosophical perspectives.

Focusing on paradoxes and tensions of European legal integration, this book investigates four complex and inherently contradictory processes - constitutionalization and democratization, institution-building and market-making, cross-cultural communication and European discourse, and cultural exceptionalism and normalization - to offer a new framework for understanding contemporary European integration. The volume features contributions from some of the biggest names in European legal philosophy, to include Neil MacCormick, Yves Dezalay and Bryant Garth, Pierre Legrand, Heikki Mattila and David Nelken. It presents a timely, interdisciplinary approach to an important and topical area and will be of interest to those concerned with the place of socio-legal processes, language and culture in the continuous advancement of the EU project.