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A Community of Europeans: The Requisite Underpinnings
Author(s) -
HOW PAUL
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-5965.1995.tb00515.x
Subject(s) - maastricht treaty , pessimism , european union , treaty , european integration , european community , obstacle , political science , political economy , sociology , law , epistemology , economics , international trade , philosophy
Scholars often presume that cultural homogeneity is an essential building block for any community. This, if correct, would represent an insurmountable obstacle to the type of European integration envisaged in the Maastricht Treaty. Through an examination of theories of community articulated by Anthony Smith and Karl Deutsch, this pessimism is countered with a more optimistic prognosis. The social cement of the modem liberal community consists primarily of the individual's belief that others are of the same community. The European Union is poised to become a genuine community of Europeans and European integration is likely to proceed apace.