Self-determination and the reconfiguration of the nation-state in Europe

Abstract

In this concluding chapter, the authors summarize the contributions of the book on three interrelated dimensions (national-states and EU transformations, multilevel politics in the EU, and the self-determination claims within the EU). As a general result, we identify a shared view confirming that the shifting borders of the European Union change the meaning and definition of concepts such sovereignty and self-determination in the European context. In addition, we argue that recognizing the self-determination demands of democratic societies as an essential characteristic of the institutional design of the EU should not be seen as a risk which triggers EU disintegration, but instead as an instrument which offers new potential for the European integration. Even if this argument could be interpreted as paradoxical, it could help to overpass the limitations of the nation-state approach, when analyzing questions of European integration, and open the door to the emergence of new mechanism for multilevel governance in the EU. The search for new institutional alternatives and mechanisms to rescaling European territorial politics can be considered as a key task for the EU. The contributions to this volume identify several transformative processes which challenge the EU’s current structure and modus operandi. An important challenge is to develop a political democratic system which can accommodate these transformations and which gives sufficient political voice and representation to the different political constituents of the EU. Then the question becomes how to ensure a political voice in this multilevel political structure. In the final part of the concluding chapter we discuss and assess several possible answers.