Contractual Theory and European Federalism in Buchanan’s Thought

In this paper, I will analyse James M. Buchanan’s thought about European Union, analysing some of his less known articles. The purpose is twofold 1. To underline the importance of small social aggregates in Buchanan's thought; 2. To link his ethical considerations to the project of European unification. He considers that only in small, culturally homogeneous social groups, is it very likely that at least some decisions meet everybody’s approval. He therefore defends a kind of ‘micro-contracting’ (Reisman 1990). By micro-contracting, Buchanan means a social agreement between members of small groups that have substratum of clear cultural homogeneity, able to avert the excessive power of pressure groups. Starting from the need of a shared ethical structure and the need to build a political unity heeding of the various national communities and faithful to the liberal principles, what is Buchanan's view on the process of European integration? In "Europe's Constitutional Opportunity" (1992), he states that European unification must start from the same 'Madisonian' view of the American constitutional structure. Not only is it necessary to take heed of the division of the powers of the rule of law, but facing such a large political entity and such a fragmented linguistic variety, the European Union must be founded on the principle that every state can withdraw from that union. Buchanan is very attentive to the preservation of small local and national realities that should not be suffocated by a too centralized bureaucratic entity.