A United States of Europe

interesting treatise on the subject; and George Washington said that some day, taking its cue from America, Europe would form a United States of Europe. In earlier days such men as Henry IV, Grotius, Comenius, and Kant advocated a federation. In the twenties, we find Briand and Herriot, and today, Churchill, Auriol, Bevin, and Attlee among those advocating-the unification of Europe. From past experience it would seem that the impulse toward federation is strongest immediately after a destructive and devastating war. After the Napoleonic wars there was a kind of unity achieved under the Holy Alliance until the revolutions of 1848. Then, after World War I, Briand and Herriot, in their quest for security from a recurrence of war, sought to develop a federation of states. And now, within the last few weeks, the concept of a federation of Europe has passed, rather suddenly, from the realm of academic and theoretical contemplation into the arena of practical politics. In their weakness and helplessness the nations of western Europe seem to recognize their interdependence and are drawn to their neighbors by the urge for security. The tendency has been that, as they recover their strength, their nationalism and independence reassert themselves and the idea of unity disappears. Now IS THE TIME

Geography · Political science · Post-Soviet Geopolitical Dynamics

• Recalcitrance and initiative

  Arthur A Stein•International Relations of the…•2013

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