Search

Can the process of European unification lead to a form of democracy that is at once supranational and situated above the organisational level of a state? The supranational federation should be constructed in such a way that the heterarchical relationship between the Member States and the federation remains intact. The author finds the basis for such an order in the idea of the EU constituted by a 'doubled' sovereign-the European citizens and the European peoples (the States). In order to sustain such an order, reforms of the existing European treaties are needed. It is necessary to eliminate the legitimation deficits of the EU in a future Euro- Union-that is, a more closely integrated core Europe. The European Parliament would have to gain the right to take legislative initiatives, and the so-called 'ordinary legislative procedure', which requires the approval of both chambers, would have to be extended to all policy fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses European integration as of July 2012, focusing on the issues associated with the integration of citizens and the integration of states. The integration of states reportedly raises the issue of distribution of powers between the European Union (EU) and its Member States. In terms of the integration of citizens, the issue of the democratisation of an increase in the power held by European institutions is raised.

This paper reflects on the chasm of the war opened between the U.S. and Europe. It notes that the massive demonstrations against the war across Europe showed not only the beginnings of a real European public sphere, but also the need for a common European foreign policy, beginning at the core of "old Europe." By co-signing the statement issued in this paper, a call for Europe's intellectuals is issued to lend their voices to this project, both politically and by articulating a European identity beyond the legacies of Eurocentrism and the logic of nation-states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on citizenship and national identity in Europe. The nationalism which was inspired by the works of historians and romantic writers founded a collective identity that played a functional role for the implementation of the citizenship that arose in the French Revolution. Hereditary nationality gave way to an acquired nationalism, that is, to a product of one's own conscious striving. This nationalism was able to foster people's identification with a role which demanded a high degree of personal commitment, even to the point of self-sacrifice; in this respect, general conscription was only the other side of the civil rights coin. Nationalism and republicanism combine in the willingness to fight and, if necessary, die for one's country. This explains the complementary relation of mutual reinforcement that originally obtains between nationalism and republicanism, the one becoming the vehicle for the emergence of the other. However, this socio-psychological connection does not mean that the two are linked in conceptual terms.