The Transformation of Europe

In 1951, France, Germany, Italy, and the Benelux countries concluded the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. Lofty in its aspirations, and innovative in some of its institutional arrangements, this polity was perceived, by the actors themselves—as well as by the developers of an impressive academic theoretical apparatus, who were quick to perceive events—as an avant garde international organization ushering forth a new model for transnational discourse. Very quickly, however, reality dissipated the dream, and again quickly following events, the academic apparatus was abandoned. Forty years later, the European Community is a transformed polity. It now comprises twelve Member States, has a population of 340 million citizens, and constitutes the largest trading bloc in the world. But the notion of "transformation" surely comes from changes deeper than its geography and demography. That Europe has been transformed in a more radical fashion is difficult to doubt. Indeed, in the face of that remarkable (and often lucrative) growth industry, 1992 commentary, doubt may be construed as subversion.