Europe as Empire: The Nature of the Enlarged European Union » (New Edition)

Jan Zielonka is Professor of European Politics at the University of Oxford and Ralf Dahrendorf Fellow at St Antony's College.

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.

List of Figures and Tables     xi
Introduction: the neo-medieval paradigm     1
Genesis of the book     2
Unidentified political object     4
Should Europe become a state?     7
The neo-medieval alternative     9
Two types of empire     11
Uses and abuses of models     14
Structure of the book     20
Return to Europe     23
Assessing Eastern European progress     25
Market reforms and social peace     29
Constitutional liberalism or praetorianism?     33
Flash points that never flashed     34
Comparison with other post-Communist states     36
Conclusions     42
European power politics     44
The purpose of accession     49
Imperial design and the process of accession     54
Benign empire in action     57
Agents behind the accession     59
Conclusions     63
Diversity and adaptation     65
Diversity and European integration     67
Diversity and European institutions     71
Economic 'fault lines' in the enlarged EU     74
Diversity in democracy and political culture     78
The American bias     83
Conclusions     88
Economic governance     91
The challenge of internal cohesion     94
The global competition challenge     100
The cross-border interdependence challenge     105
Conclusions     115
Democratic governance     117
Governance structure     120
Majoritarianism versus constitutionalism     125
Public space and democratic culture     333
Conclusions     137
Governance beyond borders     140
The EU as an international actor     143
The emerging international system in Europe     150
Competing universalistic claims: EU versus United States     156
Conclusions     162
Conclusions: implications of neo-medievalism     164
What makes Europe neo-medieval     166
Integration through enlargement     171
Governing the neo-medieval Europe     176
Legitimacy in the neo-medieval Europe     182
Participation, representation, and contestation     186
The case for optimism     189
Notes     192
Bibliography     272
Index      285