Civic Culture, Sovereignty and Federal Union:
Futures and Pasts of a Shared European Heritage,
1515-2025
Europe is in crisis. Perhaps the European Union has even entered, as many analysts like to put it, an era of ‘polycrisis’. One of our most fundamental European debates concerns the future direction of the Union, especially in terms of its democracy, its civic cultures and its geopolitics. What should the make-up of the Union be in terms of democratic institutions? How do we share sovereign powers? What should be its foundation in terms of citizenship and civic cultures? How should citizens and policy makers address the division and workings of sovereign powers in the Union? How should the Union act in the world of geopolitics?
In short, what kind of Federal Union should Europe be?
The first aim of our collective project is to contribute to the historical study of the Federal Union as a shared European heritage.
The second aim of the project is to connect historical study with reflections on Europe’s present and future as Federal Union.
Hence the starting point for the project is to set up a research network that brings together 15-20 historians of political thought, political theorists and policy makers to jointly study some of the key dimensions of the pasts, presents and futures of ‘Federal Union’ in Europe.
The first step has been to set up a small group and steering committee and to organise an exploratory workshop that took place on Monday 16 September and Tuesday 17 September 2024. The group set out the research agenda, presented first drafts of chapters and discussed opportunities for research funding.
After the workshop, we decided to focus, also in the light of recent political troubles and tribulations, on the themes of sharing sovereignty and civic cultures in federal unions.
Our second workshop Sharing Sovereignty in the Federal Union: Conceptions and Contestations is scheduled for June 2026.
Network
In terms of planning and organising most of the work is done by Bert Drejer (PthU, Utrecht), Joshua Livestro (Utrecht) and Martin van Gelderne — with Iain Hampsher-Monk (emeritus Exeter) offering wise advice. The core of our network also includes Laurelin Middelkoop, PhD-research er at the EUI, and Marie Curie Fellows Jonas Gerling and Brian Olesen.
Intellectually the project builds on Joshua Livestro’s study A More Perfect Union: Federal Union in Political Thought and Practice, 1500-1951 (Amsterdam, 2024).
As a work of synthesis it starts with Machiavelli’s reflections on federal alliances and the need of expansion and ends with the debates that set up the first European treaty, the 1951 one on Coal and Steel. It’s a staunchly historical study but one with a strong political message.
In terms of set up and ambiance we follow the example set by projects such as Freedom and the Construction, directed by Quentin Skinner and Martin van Gelderen. The project’s two volumes were published in 2013 by Cambridge University Press.
IN UTRAMQUE PARTEM 