This book seeks to comprehend the evolving nature of the European Union following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the failure of the European Constitution. Its prime focus is the last wave of ...enlargement that has profoundly transformed the EU. Although there are many parallels between the European integration process and state building processes, the Union is nothing like a Westphalian super state. The new emerging polity resembles a kind of neo-medieval empire with a polycentric system of government, multiple and overlapping jurisdictions, striking cultural and economic heterogeneity, fuzzy borders, and divided sovereignty. The book tries to spell out the origin, the shape, and the implications of this empire. The aim of this book is to suggest a novel way of thinking about the European Union and the process of European integration. The book shows 'two Europes' coming together following the end of the cold war. It proposes a system of economic and democratic governance that meets the ever greater challenges of modernization, interdependence, and globalization. It identifies the most plausible scenario of promoting peaceful change in Europe and beyond. The author argues that mainstream thinking about European integration is based on mistaken statist assumptions and suggests more effective and legitimate ways of governing Europe than through adoption of a European Constitution, creation of a European army, or introduction of a European social model. The book covers many fields from politics, and economics to foreign affairs and security. It analyzes developments in both Eastern and Western Europe. It also gives ample room to both theoretical and empirical considerations. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/politicalscience/9780199292219/toc.html
It is well known that Ralf Dahrendorf raised concerns about the functioning of the European Union as a democratic institution. In his opinion, the most authentic and exclusive roots of the democratic ...experience can be found only within the nation-state. This historical, cultural and institutional aspect cannot be easily reproduced outside the context of the State. In Dahrendorf’s opinion it was essential that the EU Member States be democratic but to give a democratic character to Europe it was not necessary to transform the EU into a sort of Moloch State. This essay addresses the dilemma about European democracy highlighted by Dahrendorf, investigates why and how the EU has tried to build its democratic political system and the causes of the failure of this process. It examines the nature of democracy in a European continent with very wide borders and reflects on the various political crises that threaten its integration. In particular, it highlights the inadequacy of national democracies in managing transnational economies and policies and the possible effects of the populist conjuncture. The participation of citizens and political representation in its various forms of territorial expression remain the basis of a project of innovation in democratic practice that must not leave room for harmful alternatives.
Europe Unbound Zielonka, Jan
2003, 2002, 20030902, 2003-09-02, 20020101
eBook
Europe Unbound provides an analysis of the enlargement of the European Union and examines from both a theoretical and a political approach issues such as:* Where does Europe end?* Should Europe's ...borders be open or closed?* How does the evolution of territorial politics impact on the course of European integration?This book draws upon such diverse fields as History, Sociology, Political Science and International Relations and contains contributions from an international range of respected academics.
Democratic Nostalgia Zielonka, Jan
Global perspectives (Oakland, Calif.),
03/2023, Volume:
4, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The reviewed books nicely expose several factors behind democratic “degeneration,” but they do not question the assumption that democracy is a matter for nation-states only. This is problematic ...because states’ ability to perform their traditional functions has been progressively eroded. The internet revolution, in particular, has accelerated social communication, economic transactions, and the process of unbounding with profound implications for democratic performance. Rather than cultivating nostalgia for the “glorious years” of democracy, we must think hard how to make democracy triumph in the digital era.
The essay explains the origin, scope and forms of the anti-liberal surge taking place in Central and Eastern Europe. Why have voters across the region deserted the liberal politicians who managed to ...secure peace and prosperity on the ashes of communism? Does the erosion of democratic values and institutions lead to autocracy, or something novel? Special attention will be devoted to the issue of order and chaos in the broader European setting. Can order be maintained without shared values across EU member states? The conclusions will point to the variety of hybrid regimes in Central and Eastern Europe and assess their impact.
The European Union (EU) spreads its norms and extends its power in various parts of the world in a truly imperial fashion. This is because the EU tries to impose domestic constraints on other actors ...through various forms of economic and political domination or even formal annexations. This effort has proved most successful in the EU's immediate neighbourhood where the Union has enormous political and economic leverage and where there has been a strong and ever-growing convergence of norms and values. However, in the global arena where actors do not share European norms and the EU has limited power, the results are limited. Consequently, it is not only Europe's ethical agenda that is in limbo; some basic social preferences across the EU seem also to be unsustainable. Can Europe maintain, let alone enhance, its environmental, labour or food safety norms without forcing global competitors to embrace them? The challenge lies not only in enhancing Europe's global power, but also primarily in exporting rules and norms for which there is more demand among existing and emerging global players. This means that Europe should engage in a dialogue that will help it to establish commonly shared rules of morality and global governance. Only then can Europe's exercise of power be seen as legitimate. It also means that Europe should try to become a 'model power' rather than a 'superpower', to use David Miliband's expression. The latter approach would imply the creation of a strong European centre able to impose economic pains on uncooperative actors. The former would imply showing other actors that European norms can also work for them and providing economic incentives for adopting these norms. To be successful in today's world, Europe needs to export its governance to other countries, but it can do it in a modest and novel way that will not provoke accusations of 'regulatory imperialism'.
The article argues that it is impossible to explain the series of existential crises confronting present-day Europe without reference to the changing nature of borders. Unbounding and rebounding ...prompted by transnational and technological pressures reconfigures the relationship between territory, authority, and rights in Europe. It produces new winners and losers. It changes the geography of power and makes European institutions look inadequate if not obsolete. The article tries to utilize recent studies in the field of geography, economics, and communication to understand the evolution of European integration. Four spatial models or architectural designs are envisaged: variable geometry, ordo-liberal empire, functional networks, and cascading pluralism.
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