securing the european superstate
- PDF / 78,222 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 536 x 697 pts Page_size
- 90 Downloads / 195 Views
Book reviewed: The Idea of a European Superstate: Public Justification and European Integration Glyn Morgan (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2005), 204pp., ISBN: 0 69 112246 6
PURPOSES AND POWERS
T
he Idea of a European Superstate is an attempt to distinguish the overall purpose of the European Union (EU). It concludes that the EU is essential because of the latent potential that it has to adjust the balance of power within the world order, in the interests of the EU’s citizens in particular. This function, Morgan concludes, provides the justification, not for the EU in its present state, but of the development of an EU superstate. He argues that a superstate is a prerequisite of a super power, which alone can enable a world order based upon multi-lateral powers, rather than upon the unilateral power that the US has become. The book is closely reasoned, taking the reader through each step that leads to Morgan’s overall conclusion. Throughout, he is careful to include and challenge
opponents’ arguments, as well as scrutinising his own conclusions. The first chapter, on justification, provides definitions of the terms used, and, where necessary, distinguished from other possible meanings, making it easy for the reader to grasp precisely Morgan’s arguments. For example, we learn the concept of the ‘bare citizen’ – a disinterested holder of public values based upon liberal democracy – who will be the theoretical judge of the justification of the EU (pp. 34–6). We learn that this bare citizen will assess the EU’s value to the extent that it meets the requirements of publicity (general appeal), accessibility (general participation on equal terms) and sufficiency (effective and efficient pursuit of agreed aims) (pp. 33–41 passim). Having defined the outline of his arguments, and set the criteria against which they are to be judged, Morgan discusses european political science: 6 2007
(389 – 394) & 2007 European Consortium for Political Research. 1680-4333/07 $30 www.palgrave-journals.com/eps
389
the issues that are generally put forward as barriers towards EU integration. The first is nationalism. In his second chapter, he dismisses it on the grounds that nationalism of any form is a created, rather than organic, concept (pp. 52–4). In the next chapter, Morgan also dispatches the second argument, doubts about sovereignty, the main premise of Euroscepticism, by noting that those who are antagonistic towards the EU on such grounds also need to find a definitive set of arguments in favour of a return to autonomous nation states. As Morgan points out, given the vulnerable position of an individual state within the world order, and given the degree of interdependence that this necessitates, such a step would entail a project as ‘transformative’ as increased EU integration (p. 58). The previous chapters cleared the ground for an objective examination of EU integration. The book then presents Morgan’s alternative justifications for its further integration. These he divides into ‘welfare’ (prosperity) and ‘security’
Data Loading...
