Europe’s goal should not be a United States of Europe, but a better united Europe of states

Is a European ‘superstate’ desirable and, if so, could it ever be created? Simon Glendinning writes on philosophical approaches to this question, drawing on the work of philosophers such as Kant, Hegel, Marx and Derrida. Taking inspiration from Kant, he argues that rather than aiming for the ideal of a European state, we should instead direct our efforts toward a ‘negative substitute’: the formation in Europe of a relatively stable federation of states each retaining ‘limited sovereignty’.

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