The European Union should be based on the idea of European sovereignty, as French President Emmanuel Macron designed the future of the EU in 2017. The concept of European sovereignty connects questions of political thought with the internal order and the global political strategy of the EU. From a historical perspective, modern political thought has evolved around the concept of the state. However, ancient roots of political thought indicate that fundamental questions of political order were already reflected in a context prior to the evolution of the modern state. Important concepts of political philosophy emerged in ancient Greek and Roman history that continue to have an impact today. Against this background, this textbook Ludger Kühnhardt discusses in this innovative text book whether and how political thinking can also generate its own concepts and reflections in a supranational context, and especially in the European Union.
What are the basic concepts of political thought that guides the European Union? Meanwhile, has the European Union spawned its own genre of political thought? What does this mean for the history of ideas and political philosophy? What are the consequences for the internal order and the behavior of global actors in the EU? This highly thought-provoking textbook covers the following themes: I. Context: History of ideas and international relations thought together. European integration history and theories of integration taken further. II. Paths of thought: From the defense against evil to the bonum commune europaeum. From market citizens to Union citizens. From the internal market to the system of government. From crises import to the monopoly of the use of force. From a (unilateral) normative power to a (multilateral) world power. III. Basic concepts: European Union. European identity. European community of values. Euro language. IV. Power issues: European sovereignty. Taxes. Constitution. Security. V. Conclusion: Self-assertion: A European Union placed in a changed world. The ability to govern: An EU thought against its own history.
Prof. Dr. Ludger Kühnhardt, Director at the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) at Bonn University, has developed this textbook together with students over several semesters.