Introduction: through the shadows of the state -- The fiction of the state as the good, natural and the beautiful -- Remedies: the neglected heritage of republicanism -- A long-lived republic: the Holy Roman Empire 1648-1763 -- A solitary republic: the United States of America 1776-1865 -- A shielded republic: the European Union 1957-2010 -- Republican commonwealths versus state-building -- Conclusions
Summary
The way the sovereign state is taken for granted in political theory prevents an explanation of historical and contemporary organizations and phenomena different from this ideal type. Peter Halďn bypasses the state and the problems it causes by constructing an understanding of politics and a research model based on classical and early modern republican political theory. This enables historical analysis without anachronism and a new interpretation of the European Union. By comparing the EU with the Holy Roman Empire (1648-1763) and the antebellum United States (1776-1865), he explains that the EU's international weakness is a result of its strength as a security system that stabilizes Europe. The author argues that continued American support and embedding in NATO is necessary in order for the EU to act on the world stage and to stabilize Europe in the long run. Through these theoretical innovations, he explores alternatives to state-building in the Third World