The Theory and Practice of the Construction of Europe—Course Description

Table of Content

Course description

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the history of the theories and practices on the idea of ‘democratic world society’ as a possible answer to war. The course concentrates on the history of the theory and practice of the construction of Europe as part of the world community. The theory and practice of international relations and of globalisation from the 14th century to today is analysed within this framework. The course is based on the analysis of the most important theoretical and legal documents of the European anti-war political thinking, of democratic international relations, and of the construction of Europe. On the basis of these documents students can study and research the historical background of the idea of ‘democratic world society’, which is one of the most important contemporary ideas used as a possible answer of civilised societies against wars.

Instructor

Éva Bóka, PhD, Dr Habil. (email: bokaeva@gmail.com)

Studied and discussed themes

Introduction

How do people approach issues on social organization, with false and right images; imaginary communities World civilizations The main characteristics of the European civilization

Themes 1.-4: the early modern and modern bases of peaceful association policy in opposition to war

  • European thinkers in search of the harmony and peace among European people and among civilizations: The classical idea of world federation and the emergence of the idea of personalist federalism in opposition to war (Aristotle, Erasmus versus Machiavelli, Althusius versus Bodin, Locke, Montesquieu, Saint-Pierre – Rousseau – Kant, Ferguson, Tocqueville, Proudhon, Eötvös)
  • 2. Ideas on peaceful associations in practice
    • The main types of unions of states: classical constitutional federalism (the Treaty of the Union of Utrecht, 1579 the American constitution of 1787; the Swiss constitution of 1848); the phenomenon of nation state and of nationalism the idea of personalist federalism as a means against nationalism in the Habsburg Empire (Eötvös, Renner, Naumann)
  • 3-4. The development of the ideas on democratic international and European association policy: the constitutional federalist, unionist and functionalist bases of the European integration policy (1919-1949);
    • Unionism: New international organization principles of civil society in classical confederalist form: Wilson and the League of Nations; Unionism (Churchill)
    • Federalism: Constitutional federalism: the Pan-European Movement (Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi); Personalism unanimous organic democracy; the division of the economic and political state (Salvador de Madariaga);Against the totalitarian states in the name of the democratic European federation (Coudenhove-Kalergi, Ortega y Gasset, Thomas Mann, and Salvador de Madariaga), The European Federalist Movement (Altiero Spinelli), New European incremental personalist federalism (Denis de Rougemont, Hendrik Brugmans); Functionalism (David Mitrany) Functionalist-federalism (Jean Monnet)

Theme 5: democratization of the international organization and the international law:

  • Functionalist-federalism and confederalism: the United Nations Organization; the Charter of the United Nations; Universalism: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Classical confederalism in Europe: The Council of Europe and the Statute of the Council of Europe

Themes 6-9: theories on the renewal of the principles of the European association policy

  • 6. “The golden age” of the construction of the European Community, 1950-1953; the principles of the new federalist supranational association policy
    • The “Monnet-method”;Europe’s first constitution: the Draft Treaty Embodying the Statute of the European Political Community, 1953.
  • 7. The emergence of a new type association policy in the supranational European Community; Federalists versus intergovernmentalists; the federalist-intergovernmentalist compromise
    • Integration theories emerging from practice (The influence of the supranational European institutions of the European Community on the theories and practices of the association policy in Europe); Functionalism (Mitrany); Federalist-functionalism (Jean Monnet); Constitutional supranational federalism (Altiero Spinelli, Walter Hallstein); Neo-functionalism (Ernst Haas, Leon N. Lindberg); Classical European confederalism (De Gaulle, Thatcher); Intergovernmentalism (Andrew Moravcsik); Neo-federalism (John Pinder) ; Personalist federalism (federation of persons and states) (Jacques Delors); Interdependency (Robert O. Keohane)
  • The EU as a new type of civil society: federalist-intergovernmentalist union of states based on multilevel governance (Draft Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, 2003)
    • The role of the federalist principles – the personal principle, and the principle of subsidiarity – in the European law
  • 9. “The Europeanization of Europe”
    • EU enlargement and the unification of Europe; Rethinking of the democratic association policy in Europe; The vision of a free, non-governmental personal associational policy based on truth and on the real interests of persons (Vaclav Havel)

Theme 10: in search of European identity: the test of the results of the new type European association policy

Themes 11-15: Europe and globalization

  • 11. The EU’s role in the process of globalization
    • What is global in the principles of European civil society and European law?
  • 12. Europeanization of the world?
    • The interaction of the European and Asiatic cultures; The questions of modernization and Europeanization/Westernization of the world; The question of the universal validity of the principles of the European civil society
  • 13. The clash of civilizations versus harmony of civilizations (comparison of the European, Japanese, Chinese and Islam civilization)
  • 14. Contemporary plans on ‘global civil society’ (Havel, Kaldor, Keane)
  • 15. Ideas on the reform of the United Nations Organization

Literature

  1. Information for my students: http://www.eva-boka.name
  2. Éva Bóka [2007]: The Idea of Subsidiarity in the European Federalist Thought. Grotius, The Journal of the Institute of International Studies of the Corvinus University of Budapest. Available online.
  3. Éva Bóka [2008]: Rethinking European Supranationalism in a Historical Perspective. Grotius, The Journal of the Institute of International Studies of the Corvinus University of Budapest, Vita (Discussion). Available online.
  4. Éva Bóka [2009]: The Europe-China Dialogue in a Historical Perspective. In: Grotius E-könyvtár (E-Library), 2009, Available online.
  5. Ian Brownlie (ed.) [1981, 1992]: The Basic Documents on Human Rights . Clarendon Press, Oxford.
  6. Ben Rosamond [2000]: Theories of European Integration . St. Martin’s Press Inc., New York.
  7. Michael Burgess [2000]: Federalism and European Union: The Building of Europe, 1950-2000 . Routledge, London.
  8. Neill Nugent [2003]: The Government and Politics of the European Union . Palgrave Macmillan, New York. 34-108, 111-292.
  9. Brent F. Nelsen - Alexander C-G. Stubb (eds.) [1994; 2004]: The European Union. Readings on the Theory and Practice of European Integration. Lynne Rienner Publishers, London.
  10. A.G. Harryvan and J. van der Harst (eds.) [1997]: Documents on European Union. Macmillan Press LTD., London.
  11. David Held & Anthony McGrew [1999]: Global Transformations. Politics, Economics and Culture. Polity Press, Cambridge. 414-452.
  12. Samuel P. Huntington [2002]: The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order . Simon and Schuster UK Ltd. London. 56-78, 301-321.
  13. Derek Heater [1996]: World Citizenship and Government. Cosmopolitan Ideas in the History of the Western Political Thought. Macmillan Press Ltd. London.
  14. Henryk Kierzkowski (ed.) [2002]: Europe and Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
  15. Václav Havel: The Power of the Powerless. In: John Keane (ed.) [1985]: The Power of the Powerless. Citizens against the state in central-eastern Europe. Hutchinson and Co. Ltd. London. 23-96.
  16. Mary Kaldor [2004]: Global Civil Society. An Answer to War . Polity, Cambridge.
  17. The basic treaties of the European integration (ECSC, EURATOM, EEC, SEA, TEU, TA, TN), [2005]: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/treaties/index.htm
  18. A Draft Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, [2003]: http://european-convention.eu.int/default.asp?lang=Eu
  19. Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, [2004]: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/en/treaties/dat/12004V/htm/12004V.html
  20. Treaty of Lisbon, [2007]: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:306:SOM:EN:HTML
  21. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, [2007]: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:303:SOM:EN:HTML

Proposed documents to choose for the presentation

Websites, Internet (2009)

Documents on constitutional development: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/constpap.htm
Internet Modern History Sourcebook: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1660: http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-contents.html
Locke: The Second Treatise of Civil Government, 1690: http://www.constitution.org/jl/2ndtreat.htm
The Federalist Papers: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/fed.asp
The American Constitution: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/constpap.asp
Constitition of the United States, 1787: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/usconst.asp
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 1789: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
Immanuel Kant: Perpetual Peace, 1795: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/kant/kant1.htm
Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/toc_indx.html
Human rights: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
EU History Site: http://www.eu-history.leidenuniv.nl
Globalization theories: http://www.polity.co.uk/global
Globalization: http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/index.htm
Gateway to the European Union: http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
Fondation Robert Schuman: http://www.robert-schuman.eu/
Foundation Jean Monnet: http://www.jean-monnet.ch/