Market building, polity building, and community in the European Union

Abstract: The central argument detailed in the paper is that European integration will only become sustainable in the long run when the problem of developing a political community of European citizens is directly addressed. Contrasting the historical development of the West-European nation states wi...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Link(s) zu Dokument(en):IHS Publikation
1. Verfasser: Melchior, Josef
Format: IHS Series NonPeerReviewed
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Institut für Höhere Studien 1999
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Abstract: The central argument detailed in the paper is that European integration will only become sustainable in the long run when the problem of developing a political community of European citizens is directly addressed. Contrasting the historical development of the West-European nation states with the conditions in the EC/EU the conclusion is drawn that a community of European citizens cannot and need not be based on a programme of state and nation building. Instead, a political community of European citizens could be founded on more recent political achievements and the integrative mechanisms of modern federally organized political systems in general: common citizenship, a democratic and participatory structure of governance, a more balanced distribution of labour between the national and the European level in substantial policy areas, combined with a pro-active strategy of protecting multinational diversity and tolerance.;