By: Ami Ikuenobe
Introduction
The European Empire, published in 2016, is a book by Josep M. Colomer, a professor of Political Economy at Georgetown University. The objective of this book is to discuss the current dilemmas facing Europe, while highlighting the successes and the shortcomings of the European Union (EU). This book summary will focus on the biggest claims and ideas that stood out to me as a reader, such as the claim that the EU is an empire, and sovereignty in Europe is dying. Additionally, I will discuss Colomer’s predictions for the future of Europe and the European Union.
Is Europe An Empire?
Colomer starts the book with his biggest claim: the European Union is a “non-imperialistic empire” because it displays the typical characteristics of an empire, such as not having fixed borders, displaying uneven levels of formal integration, and having diverse degrees of people’s allegiance to the center (pg 4). First, I will analyze whether the European Union possesses the characteristics of an empire such as, core and unstable borders.
In Chapter 3, titled “the German Core”, Colomer claims that Germany is the core of the European Union. He argues that empires can be pluralistic and internally balanced if they work by consensus, as the EU does, without relying on hegemony. According to the author, Germany does not dominate, but leads by example, especially concerning economic and integration issues. Germany acts as an example of a decentralized, multilevel, pluralistic and consensual democracy, which the EU has adopted as its model of governance.
Colomer asserts that unfixed, vulnerable borders and contentious frontier lands are typical characteristics of empires and highlights the mainland border problems of the EU: Turkey, the Balkans, and former Soviet republics under Russian influence. He then compares the EU and Russia as two rival empires. Russia, in the traditional sense, is imperialistic, which is why there are no established fixed borders between Russia and the EU. Colomer believes that establishing clear borders will bring stability to the eastern border; however, Russian imperialism has interfered with bringing peace to this area.
Overall, I was skeptical about Colomer’s claim that the European Union is an empire. My idea of an empire was similar to the Oxford dictionary’s definition of an empire, which is “an extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority”. In Colomer’s case, it seems that he has created a newer, more modern definition of an empire with Germany as its core. Germany is a key leader in the EU; nevertheless, actions are determined by consensus, and there is not a single exploitative authority that makes direct orders.
I would agree with Colomer in that Germany plays a “core” role within the EU and leads by example. I also agree with Colomer’s claim that the EU does not have stable, fixed eastern borders. Recent acts of aggression by Russia, such as invading Crimea, prove that instability on the eastern borders is likely to persist. Turkey has expressed its desire to join the EU; however, it still occupies a portion of Cyprus and its violations of civil liberties contradict the democratic nature of the EU. Moreover, violence and Soviet influence have led to failure to incorporate the Balkans as part of the Union, since it is a region of instability.
Sovereignty is Obsolete
In a chapter titled “Goodbye, Sovereignty”, Colomer believes the “beginning of the end of sovereignty” in Europe occurred when leaders decided to promote economic cooperation after WWII and that sovereignty is no longer efficient because multi-level governance is incompatible with the classical notion of sovereignty.
Colomer goes on to make a stronger claim that “sovereignty has become one of the most obsolete political concepts in the current world, especially in Europe”. The reason is that the concept of sovereignty implies a centralized monopoly of power, but no local, state, or imperial government asserts itself as fully sovereign in the form of government that fits the EU.
I was thoroughly surprised by the degree to which I agreed with Colomer by the end of this chapter. It does seem that the traditional notion of sovereignty has become weaker as Europe has further unified, and in the chapter “Firing the Coach”, he details that many public decisions made by EU member states are dependent on the EU. As a consequence of the shift of power to the EU, the downgrading of domestic politics is evident. Many politicians campaigning under aggressive partisan labels are unable to fulfill their electoral promises and cannot get reelected. Colomer gives many examples of incumbents in EU member states who have lost their reelection since the 2008 recession with exceptions to Germany and the United Kingdom.
This section was an enlightening read, highlighting the struggle that incumbents face to win reelection- a trend that I was unaware of- and that greatly emphasized the shift of power from domestic politics to the EU.
Brexit
It was intriguing to read Colomer’s predictions of the 2016 UK referendum vote. He outlines some of David Cameron’s conditions if a “Remain” vote were to prevail, such as the limitation of migrants from other EU countries and the liberalization of markets. Nonetheless, some of the proposed conditions would have required changes to existing EU treaties, which may have been politically risky and set precedent for other EU member states to follow.
If the UK were to vote “Leave”, Colomer predicts that Scotland and Northern Ireland would exit the United Kingdom. This last prediction seems more likely since the 2016 referendum. There has been a debate as to whether Scotland can hold a referendum on its independence since the country recently held a vote in 2014. Furthermore, opinion polls, such as “What Scotland Thinks”, shows an increase in support for Scottish independence. Similarly, opinion polls show increasing support for a Northern Ireland referendum and the prospect of this happening seems more likely due to the Good Friday Agreement.
A contestable prediction is the exit of the UK would put the internal stability of the EU in jeopardy. In fact, there seems to be an increase in support of the EU among member states. According to Eurobarometer polls, 65% of EU respondents in 2019 said that they have confidence in the future of the EU, as compared to 56% of respondents in 2015 [1]. Nevertheless, the UK exit has created uncertainty for future relations between the UK and the EU.
Final Thoughts
Colomer concludes his book by stating that the “most distinctive characteristic of the imperial structure of the Union'' is the different degrees of integration of member states. He predicts that the asymmetries will increase due to challenges posed by the digital market, terrorism, external border control, and more. According to the 2018 Eurobarometer report, 47% of respondents agreed that “those countries which are ready to intensify the development of a common European policy in certain important areas should do so without having to wait for the others”.[2] This will be interesting to track in the upcoming years once the departure of the UK from the EU is finalized.
Overall, this book presents an effortlessly readable discussion of the development of the European Union and its ongoing dilemmas, by using intriguing metaphors to simplify the complexity of the subject.
Ami Ikuenobe is a junior studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Footnotes
[1] DG.COMM.D-4. PublicOpinion - European Commission, ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Survey/index#p=1&instruments=SPECIAL&yearFrom=1974&yearTo=2020.
[2] DG.COMM.D-4. PublicOpinion - European Commission, ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/Survey/getSurveyDetail/instruments/SPECIAL/yearFrom/1974/yearTo/2020/surveyKy/2217
References
Colomer, Josep M. The European Empire. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.