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Papers by Vesselin Paskalev

Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights... more Most critical analyses assess citizenship-deprivation policies against international human rights and domestic rule of law standards, such as prevention of statelessness, non-arbitrariness with regard to justifications and judicial remedies, or non-discrimination between different categories of citizens. This report considers instead from a political theory perspective how deprivation policies reflect specific conceptions of political community. We distinguish four normative conceptions of the grounds of membership in a political community that apply to decisions on acquisition and loss of citizenship status: i) a ‘State discretion’ view, according to which governments should be as free as possible in pursuing State interests when determining citizenship status; ii) an ‘individual choice’ view, according to which individuals should be as free as possible in choosing their citizenship status; iii) an ‘ascriptive community’ view, according to which both State and individual choices sh...

Social Science Research Network, Jul 30, 2011

On 2 March 2010 the European Commission authorised the cultivation of a BASF's genetically modifi... more On 2 March 2010 the European Commission authorised the cultivation of a BASF's genetically modified potato "Amflora" throughout the European Union. This came after a tortuous process commenced in 1996 and so far it is the only authorisation of a GMO for cultivation in EU since the current regulation was established. 1 On 3 March 2010, President Barroso announced that the Commission intends to propose amendments to the current regulation to allow the Member States to prohibit the cultivation of GMO authorised for cultivation in the EU and it did so on June 13, 2010. This is one of the very few cases where decision-making power is effectively devolved back from Union to state level; it is even more impressive that this is happening on the initiative of the Commission and despite the obvious negative consequences for the internal market. 2 In the meantime BASF botched the 2011 growing season for Amflora in Sweden and in 2012 announced that it withdraws its GM crops from the EU. This article follows the saga of the first and only cultivation authorisation under the current GMO regime and purports to find the reasons why it entailed its immediate collapse. 1 This is the only authorisation for cultivation issued so far under the current regime. There is another GMO which can be grown-the maize MON810, but it was authorised in the 90s under the old regime. There are several other GMOs which were authorised under the current regime but for use only and they must be grown elsewhere. 2 Yet even though the announcement of the prospective regime change was prompted by the authorisation of the Amflora, it was by no means caused by it; the prospect for amendments was conceived as early as 2008 (see below). 3 For detailed and comprehensive accounts of the issues in the context of international law and the transatlantic relations see Alberto Alemanno, Trade in Food: Regulatory and Judicial Approaches in the EU and the WTO (Cameron May 2007) and also Mark A. Pollack and Gregory C. Shaffer, When cooperation fails: the international law and politics of genetically modified foods (Gregory C. Shaffer ed, Oxford University Press 2009). 4 For a detailed history of the biotech regulation in EU see Shane H. Morris and Charles Spillane, 'EU GM crop Regulation: A Road to Resolution or a Regulatory Roundabout?' (2010) 1 European Journal of Risk Regulation 359.

In the seminal typology of legislatures suggested by Michael Mezey British House of Commons ranks... more In the seminal typology of legislatures suggested by Michael Mezey British House of Commons ranks in the group of the ‘reactive legislatures’ characterized by modest policy-making power and still high public support. Currently most of the European democracies with parliamentary systems, qualify in the same group – it is inherent feature of the parliamentary government that the Cabinet effectively dominates the parliament through the very same majority that sustains it.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021

Mobility within the EU is normally understood as economic: a flow from poor members from Central ... more Mobility within the EU is normally understood as economic: a flow from poor members from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to the wealthier West which recently replaced a similar flow from the poorer South to the North. It is rarely noticed, however, that the same flows represent also movement from lower quality democracies to higher quality ones. If so, it is plausible to expect that this movement, on a scale unseen in Europe since WWII, will have some feedback effect on the quality of democracy too. Indeed, as we know from Albert Hirschman, citizens are facing a perennial dilemma between ‘voice’ and ‘exit’. The other choice they have to make according to him is between investing their time and energy in actions in the public sphere and pursuit of private welfare. By facilitating the exit option on one side and enhancing the opportunities for private prosperity on the other, the Union, for all the great things it provides, may subvert democracy in the member states. This effect may be negligible in most of the ‘old’ member states which have not seen significant outward migration but it should be very strong in the ‘new’ member states in the East. Thus, the paper aims to initiate the systematic exploration of the relationship between emigration and democratic backsliding which is currently the most characteristic trend in CEE. It begins by an exploration of the dynamics of mobility, participation and private welfare which may (or may not) come into play in the context of European integration and of the free movement of people in particular. This is followed by a brief discussion of the available evidence for the relationship between mobility and political participation – all of it from other contexts. It concludes with an argument that the EU ought to compensate its adverse effect on domestic democracy and (very briefly) discusses the types of measures which could remedy the problem.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2018

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

ABSTRACT The widely accepted liberal paradigm that people are born free and the empirical fact th... more ABSTRACT The widely accepted liberal paradigm that people are born free and the empirical fact that sometimes we feel or do have obligations to various groups we are members of rest quite uneasily together. The joint commitment that we may have in the latter case is the basis on which Margaret Gilbert develops quite plausible theory for legitimation of political obligations. However in her account the individual freedom seems forgone. In this paper I show this and several related problems of the actual contract theory and discuss a possible way to avoid them. I suggest that obligations to the group may be understood to arise not from mere belonging but from the actual participation in certain collective activities coupled with the ordinary meaning of that participation within the group. This solves the problem but only at the expense of considerably atenuation of the meaning of freedom. That is why I find my solution not entirely satisfactory and maintain that the actual contract theory remains at odds with freedom.

GROUP AGENCY: THE POSSIBILITY, DESIGN, AND …, Jan 1, 2011

Abstract: The book under review offers a brave new theory of group agents: it maintains that some... more Abstract: The book under review offers a brave new theory of group agents: it maintains that some groups of individuals have one capacity which is usually attributed only to individual human beings, namely being an agent. This is a bold claim with potential repercussions in ...

European Journal of Legal Studies, Jan 1, 2011

Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy, Jan 1, 2011

European Journal of Risk Regulation, Forthcoming, Jan 1, 2011

eui.eu

This study is inspired by the attempts undertaken in Britain to reverse the alleged decline of Pa... more This study is inspired by the attempts undertaken in Britain to reverse the alleged decline of Parliaments by their institutional improvements and especially by introduction of parliamentary committees, authorized to exercise rigorous control over the executive. It does not assume that the weakness of parliaments vis-à-vis the executive is necessarily problematic, but is interested in the attempts to strengthen the legislature that were motivated by such assumption, and especially in the tools employed and the results achieved by the reforms with the intent 'to restore the balance'. Therefore it explores the theoretical possibilities and the actual attempts to improve the decision-making and oversight capacities of

EUI-LAW Working Papers, Jan 1, 2009

The paper discusses the Early Warning Mechanism (EWM) to be introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the ... more The paper discusses the Early Warning Mechanism (EWM) to be introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the incentives of the national parliaments to use it and the limited opportunity it opens for bringing Europe closer to its citizens. It is suggested that the EWM provides Europe with a chance to develop a transnational network of public spheres and to become a demoi-cracy.