Americans like to speak of the "American Project", which is usually another way of expressing American exceptionalism, where America is seen as a force of freedom over tyranny. While the American Project may have been a positive force in overcoming slavery, discrimination of minorities, and the suffering of economic depression, it has more recently fallen into disrepute as the American Project became a rationale for aggressive militarism abroad. Few Americans can conceive of a European Project, except, perhaps, as an object of disdain. But the blogger parisien over at the European Tribune is driven to poetic eloquence when contemplating the European Project:
What is the real spirit and purpose of the European project? Some think
of Europe, with enthusiasm or with distaste, as no more than a
free-trade area. Yet from its beginnings the European dream has been
far more than that. It was designed to bring stability and lasting
peace to a war-ravaged continent. It offers a modern antidote to the
ancient and continuing curse of international anarchy.Historically, the only practical antidote was empire. (…) Europe has another and better solution. The European Union is a
"co-operative empire", a supranational authority in which every member
state is subject to a common framework of laws, but also has a share in
the making and administration of those laws. Here is a way to achieve
international order without the dominance of one nation over others.[…]Here is the commonwealth of the future, a new kind of civilised
international order, free from the old imperial dominance of nation
over nation that hitherto was the only alternative to anarchic
sovereignties. Never mind the naysayers! This new Europe, whatever its
difficulties, represents a new and forward-looking concept in
international relations, an example to inspire the world.
One of the most inspiring books I’ve read over the past several years is Tony Judt’s Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945. Here is the story of a continent in ruins, savaged by two wars, that, in just a few decades, becomes a beacon of peace and prosperity. A model for the world? Why not? Judt’s history is now available in German translation: Geschichte Europas von 1945 bis zur Gegenwart.
As a footnote, Michael Frank in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, points out that a country like Austria owes its success today to the European Project:
(Austria’s) immense economic success, the concept of
Austria as a small, exquisite delicatessen among mass discounters, has
propelled the country to the top of the list of rich countries. It has EU
membership to thank for this. Strangely, unified Europe has a bad reputation
with the Austrians, even though it’s thanks to Europe that they can hold their
own with anyone in the world today. … Thanks to that Community of Equals,
that toxic issue, the German question, has evaporated, and with it Austria’s
feelings of being too small and weak. It no longer needs its big brother –
neither as a role model nor as a bogeyman.
