Book Review: George Schopflin, Nations, Identity, Power: The New Politics of Europe (London: Hurst and Co., 2000, 442 pp, £16.50 pbk.)
| Published date | 01 December 2000 |
| Author | Klejda Mulaj |
| DOI | 10.1177/03058298000290030928 |
| Date | 01 December 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Book Reviews
977
Council le vel. It is true, as Schmitter argu es, that this syst em prevents the i nformal
formation of regional bl ocs, but it is not clea r why state s ize is a better organizin g
principle of inte rests than any other (p. 94).
A similar lack of theoretical foundation weakens the argument o f th e closi ng
chapter, entitled ‘Why Bother?’ Schmitter’s v ision of a democratic EU entails a
considerab le shift in power fro m states to EU institu tions, but the pro spect of such a
transfer genera tes a p aradox: Eurobarometer polls show th at a bout half of EU
citizens c onsistently oppose th e further integrat ion this democratisa tion would
require. M oreover, the Counci l of Ministers—which wo uld acquire coercive power
under Schmitt er’s propo sal—has the trust o f under forty pe r cent of EU citizens.
The EU’s original aim was security through eco nomic integration. This has been
achieved, largely by agents only indirectly or not at all accountable to citizens.
Given the apparent lack of enthusiasm (among cit izens) for further i ntegration, any
movement in this area must be p receded b y an answer to Schmitter’s question:
‘Why Bothe r?’
ERIK DE VRIES
Erik de Vries is a Do ctoral Candidate in the Depart ment of Political Science at
Carleton Universi ty, Ottawa
George Scho pflin, Nations, Identi ty, Power: The New Po litics of Europe (London:
Hurst and Co., 2 000, 442 pp, £16.50 pbk.).
The study of nationalism an d ethnicity continues to enjoy a boom, a nd it i s their
relation to power politics that permeates this new contribution by George
Schopflin. The au thor starts his analysis with a sy nthesis of the nature and origi n of
nationalism. He argues that both ethnic origin and state institutions have played a
role in t he emergence of modern nationalism. In add ition, he maintains that t he
nature o f the modern nation-st ate should be und erstood as the d ynamic interaction
of three key and interdependent elements, namely: ethnicity, civil society, and the
state, all three being id entity-forming processes a nd sources of p ower. These three
elements exist in mutual interdependence and the ideal situation occurs when a
threefold equilibrium comes into being, although this is not a necessary con dition
for democrac y. Indeed, Scho pflin emphasises that this equ ilibrium does not need to
be perfect, as the d eficiency i n one compo nent can be compensated for by the
abundance of the remaining two.
Another synthesis put forward by the author is that power is organise d on the
basis of rea son and identity. Again, reason a nd identi ty sustain one another in a
dynamic and interdep endent relationship , and the exclusion of either of them thus
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