The Influence of the European Court of Justice and the Role of Social Imaginaries in EU Governance

Abstract The years following 1989 marked a significant period of transformation for the European Union (EU), supplemented with the arrival of a distinct institutional framework. Central to this evolution is the European Court of Justice ( ecj ), which has exerted momentous influence, reshaping the power dynamics within the EU. This paper investigates influence of the ecj in helping to set up a novel trajectory of the European project, namely the shift towards what is termed “liberal constitutionalism,” characterized by a top-down, legal-centric approach. Amidst this evolution, the concept of populism emerges not only as a significant political force challenging established norms, reflecting tensions between institutional frameworks and socio-political realities, but also as conceptual lens through which the mainstream academia and European institution explain the challenges the European project has been facing. The dichotomy between established governance systems, such as the rule of law and emergent discontent, most commonly referred to as populism gave birth to the notion of “anti-populism” as a way to counteract the populist challenges to the European project. Furthermore, it studies the role of emergencies in perpetuating the status quo within EU governance, highlighting how crises are employed to justify executive overreach. To this end, this paper delves into three intertwined social imaginaries that emerged from the discourse surrounding post-1989 transformations. The first imaginary, “Western normality,” influenced the trajectory of cee societies post-Iron Curtain. The second, termed “expertocracy,” championed a procedural approach to decision-making, prioritizing experts over mass democracy. Finally, the concept of the “politics of emergency” arose as a tool to surpass the post- political landscape within the EU. These constructs significantly impact how the rule of law ( rol ) is perceived, applied, and contested.