Abstract
The project of European political integration led by the European Union (EU) has provoked much speculation about what kind of political entity the EU will turn out to be. Recent scholarship has suggested that the EU can be seen as a form of empire and compared to earlier imperial formations. This review evaluates one such recent claim by Jan Zielonka that the EU resembles a ‘neo-medieval empire’. In addition, two works which frame world politics in terms of civilizations are considered. It is argued that the concepts of civilization and empire are compatible and applicable to studying the EU. Although the concept of empire captures the strategic implications of European integration, the analysis of civilizations adds a cultural dimension and highlights the interconnectedness of Europe with its neighbours. Both concepts, as mobilized by the authors reviewed here, emphasize the radical pluralism and polycentric character of contemporary politics beyond the state.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beck, B., Grande, E. and Cronin, C. (2007) Cosmopolitan Europe. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Behr, H. (2007) The European Union in the legacies of imperial rule? EU accession politics viewed from a historical comparative perspective. European Journal of International Relations 13 (2): 239–262.
Bull, H. (2002) The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics. New Jersey: Columbia University Press.
Dallmyr, F.R. (2003) Dialogue Among Civilizations: Some Exemplary Voices. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Delanty, G. (2006) Borders in a changing Europe: Dynamics of openness and closure. Comparative European Politics 4 (2): 183–202.
Diez, T. (2005) Constructing the self and changing others: Reconsidering ‘Normative Power Europe’. Millennium: Journal of International Studies 33 (3): 613–636.
Diez, T. and Whitman, R. (2002) Analysing European integration: Reflecting on the English school. Journal of Common Market Studies 40 (1): 43–67.
Donnelly, J. (1998) Human rights: A new standard of civilization? International Affairs 74 (1): 1–23.
Fossum, J.E. (2006) Conceptualizing the European Union through four strategies of comparison. Comparative European Politics 4 (1): 94–123.
Fukuyama, F. (1992) The End of History and the Last Man. Canada: Maxwell MacMillan.
Gunder Frank, A. (1998) ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Hardt, M. and Negri, A. (2000) Empire. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Ifversen, J. (2002) Europe and European culture – A conceptual analysis. European Societies 4 (1): 1–26.
Jackson, R. (2007) An analysis of EU counterterrorism discourse post-September 11. Cambridge Review of International Affairs 20 (2): 233–247.
Manners, I. (2002) Normative power Europe: A contradiction in terms? Journal of Common Market Studies 40 (2): 235–258.
Mozaffari, M. (2001) The transformationalist perspective and the rise of a global standard of civilisation. International Relations of the Asia Pacific 1 (2): 247–264.
Neumann, I.B. (1999) Uses of the Other: “The East” in European Identity Formation. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
Ryoo, W. (2008) Problems of national identity in an era of globalization: Turkey's bid to join the European Union. Journal of International and Area Studies 15 (1): 37–45.
Schimmelfennig, F. (2000) International socialization in the New Europe: Rational action in an institutional environment. European Journal of International Relations 6 (1): 109–139.
Schimmelfennig, F. (2001) The community trap: Liberal norms, rhetorical action, and the eastern enlargement of the European Union. International Organization 55 (1): 47–80.
Suzuki, S. (2005) Japan's socialization into janus-faced European international society. European Journal of International Relations 11 (1): 137–164.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Henry, N. Politics beyond the state: Europe as civilization and as empire. Comp Eur Polit 8, 262–280 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/cep.2008.33
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/cep.2008.33