Transcript The role of politics for social responsibility in a

The European
Integration process as
a source of inspiration
for East - Asia
Overcoming nationalisms for gaining
more (popular)sovereignty
Andreas Gross, Switzerland, M.P./C o E/ ADD
www.andigross.ch [email protected]
Underwood-Forum/Seoul / - February 27 th 2006
Europeans learned
after the biggest
catastrophe of the
20th century
Why do we need catastrophes
in order to learn and in order
to realise big new political innovations ?
 After the next global catastrophe there wont be
much space for learning anymore !
 To learn without catastrophes is much more
challenging.

The main causes for the
catastrophe were
imperialism (econ+polit )
and nationalism
“The nation-state is not the appropriate entity for
the organisation of human kind.”
( Altiero Spinelli ,1941)
 “If we are not able to establish strong European
(transnational) institutions, a third world war will be
difficult to avoid “ (Leon Blum, 1942)

1945 - 49 the big project
was to constitute a
transnational, european
polity (CoE)
The cold war did not allow to realise
this project.
That’s why the European Integration
process was since 1950 and 1957
treaty based, economically driven
and an elite affair (EEC/EC/EU).
The European Integration
Process is one of the great
political success stories of
the 2nd half of the 20.th c.
 EU started with 6 states; today 25, tom.27 and 30 states
 In the last 500 years Europe never had 60 years of peace
 EU helped to overcome faschism,nationalism,stalinism and militarism
 It combined economic development with social and regional sharing
 Never ever a war maker was so quickly reintegrated into a common
polity for the sake of all
The genius of the European
integration process: It’s value
based and open to all who
share these values
• The Human Rights and other basic Rights have to be
respected (States might be challenged before European
Courts in Strasburg and Luxemburg)
 The EU states are committed to Democracy, the Rule of
Law and a social market economy
 The EU wants to integrate diversity, and does not
confuse unity with uniformity
What the Europeans did after
the war helps them today to
face globalisation without
loosing there achievements
• The one sided economic globalisation requires the
constitution of a global polity (Cosmopolitan Democracy)
in order to balance the global economic and political
powers and in order to make them act responsible and
respect the needs of those who can follow the markets
• Popular sovereignties have to be pooled in order to
establish transnational polities
The European Intregration
process is in an political
crises and has to be inspired
by it’s roots and
pre-cold-war-ideas
The Constitution Process started too late and too
unseriously
 Today Peoples have to be integrated , not only states
 Europe has to be transformed from an elite project in a
project shared by all Europeans
 Democratisation, Decentralisation, and Integration by
Participation will be the way

Questions for East-Asia in
order to get inspired and for a
inspiring discussion:
F/D/I: All lost, similar size, no one could dominate
anymore – CH/K/J ?
 Which could be the equal integration topic as the
Coal&Steel-Union which integrated economic core
sectors and created real common interests ?
 If the elites do not want, how the others could push for ?

Democracy is the
ground on which
responsibility
may grow
• People are related to each other
• No responsibility without relations
• The lack of responsibility has to be sanctioned
• That’s why you need a democratic polity (constitution)
in which all actors, also those who are «only»
concerned, are connected with each other
Democracy has to be
constituted on the same
level as the market in order
to make it more respectful
• 150 years ago you had a balance between the
national markets and national democracies
• Today democracy lost power, the markets are less
civilised and you have more and more irresponsibility
The globalisation of the
markets can’t be reversed;
but democracy may be
transnationally restored
and even globalised
• Democracy building started in towns and regions –
why should it end on the national level ?
• Democracy legitimises politics and policies –
it does not create a state
• That’s why we need more democracy on the supra-state
level too and share the people’s sovereignity between the
local, regional, national, European and global level
Progress and enlargement
of the democratic polity
are the condition for social
rights and responsibility
• More democracy always means
a new distribution of power
• That’s why new and better institutions
need strong people’s movements to impose
new democracy building
Democracy needs enlargement
and in deepening to guarantee
social rights and responsibility
in the global economy
Priorities:
• European constitution
• Globalising the «Strasbourg-model» to approach
global democracy
• Democratising democracy towards Direct Democracy