Europe’s crisis of confidence

The international situation, complicated for everyone, is especially critical for the European Union, which is suffering the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the hostility of the current American administration, China’s industrial challenge, and delays in the development of homegrown artificial intelligence. Above all, there is the rise of political forces supported by voters who have ceased to believe in the project of European integration. The European Union’s external and internal enemies reinforce one another. Calls for greater unity or to “learn the language of power” (Borrell) are of little use if the European population is increasingly hostile—or at least more sceptical—toward the foundations and objectives of European integration. This is especially true if the idea takes hold that the real Europe is the one formed by nation-states.

The aim of the book Europe: The Other Homeland is to argue against this latter view: there is a solid common foundation that gives coherence to European civilization prior to the emergence of nation-states, and which survived during their apogee following the Peace of Westphalia. This Europe, which transcends nation-states and existed before their emergence, throughout their development, and in the post-national phase in which we now find ourselves, has a universal vocation. It does so because it emerged from a distinctive synthesis of Roman law, Christianity, and later intellectual and political developments that emphasized individual dignity, representative institutions, and the rule of law. 

It also does so because, from the Early Modern period onward, Europe extended beyond its continental borders and led the first globalization. And it continues to do so after having contracted following decolonization, owing to the weight of history and the aspiration to export to the rest of the world its new model of coexistence based on perpetual negotiation. Thus, the criticism directed at Brussels (as a metonym for the EU) by Euro-hostile forces for being “globalist” lacks foundation: Europe can only have a universal vocation. Equally unfounded are criticisms that the EU has forgotten the Christian roots of European civilization: the influence of Christianity on the continental project is everywhere, not only in its values but also in practices and phenomena of which we are often unaware. Precisely for this reason, the “globalism” defended by the EU is inseparable from a world governed by predictable and fair rules in which everyone benefits.

The interpretation of Europe proposed in the book distinguishes three dynamics: one rooted in geography, another in political history, and a third of a philosophical and religious nature. To make the framework more easily understandable, each dynamic is described through a corresponding law: iron, silver, and gold. Their formulations are concise: “As an integral part of Eurasia, Eastern Europe is subject to Asian influences; Western Europe is the last bastion resisting them; and Central Europe is the crucible that shapes the European character of each era” (iron); “Europe is governed by a balance of powers” (silver); and “Europe is a project whose principal axis, despite its frequent setbacks, is the individual” (gold).

The Iron Law: geography, frontiers, and the Eurasian challenge

The image of the Iron Law refers to the metal that revolutionized warfare. In European memory, Asian influences have largely consisted of periodic invasions by nomadic peoples from Central Asia: Huns, Avars, Magyars, Mongols, and Turks. After the lifting of the Siege of Vienna in 1683, the threat posed by Central Asian hordes disappeared, and its place was intermittently taken by Russia and its various incarnations. For long periods, Russia fully participated in the European concert as one European power among others. At times, however, its system of governance differed markedly from that of the rest of Europe, leading it to be perceived as a new Asian—or more accurately, Eurasian—threat. This was the case during most of the Soviet Union’s existence, and it is occurring again under Putin’s Russia, especially following the invasion of Ukraine.

The role of the United States as a protective barrier against threats from Europe’s eastern flank is also addressed in the first part of the book, which analyses why this role has diminished under the second Trump Administration. The first part also includes a chapter on the Balkans, a region where the aspiration for European unity has historically broken down and which has served as a battleground for various extra-regional forces.

The Silver Law: balance of power and the European state system

The second dynamic of Europe, political in nature, reflects a constant feature of its history: the balance of competing forces, highly unstable and continuously reconfigured. For a variety of reasons explored in the book, there has never been—or only fleetingly—a hegemonic power across the entire continent. Imperial, state, sub-state, and social forces made and unmade alliances to ensure that none achieved absolute predominance. The result was continual conflict, especially after the rise of nation-states, although this coexisted with constant interactions of other kinds, perhaps most notably commercial exchange, symbolized by the most prized metal for minting currency: silver.

It is difficult to escape the historical narratives that have shaped the countries that played leading roles in European history during the Modern and Contemporary periods. The second part of the book proposes reinterpretations of the narratives of Europe’s six largest countries (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and Poland) from a pan-European perspective. The development of a European patriotism requires a new interpretation of the various national histories, so that it complements rather than replaces deeply rooted national patriotisms. This section also addresses the challenge of Europe’s common defence and the principal risk facing the European Union from within: the possible resurgence of irredentist movements.

The Gold Law: Christianity, equality, and Europe’s universal vocation

The name of the third law evokes the ethical principle, found in Christianity and many other religious and philosophical traditions, that human beings should treat others as they themselves would wish to be treated. The book argues that, among all the values characterizing European civilization, equality is the most distinctive, even though it has too often been neglected throughout Europe’s shared history. This section includes a chapter reflecting on the historical influence of Christianity on the exercise of power in Europe. An analysis of Europe’s Christian-rooted relationship with Judaism and Islam would have exceeded the scope of the book, but it does consider past and present relations with the two countries that, for Europeans, embody the complexity of that history with both religions: Israel and Turkey. The book concludes with a reflection on the challenges posed by artificial intelligence insofar as it affects the three dynamics, or laws, discussed above.

Europe: The Other Homeland does not seek to establish doctrine. It merely proposes an interpretation of Europe that, like all interpretations, is open to debate. Many readers will disagree, wholly or in part, with the hypotheses presented, and it is both natural and desirable that they do so. Ultimately, the goal is to raise questions for which there are no definitive answers, challenge prejudices, and sow doubt where certainties had never been subjected to rigorous analysis. The book invites readers to view Europe—both present and past—from different internal and external perspectives. If the reader is European, the aim is to help them feel that the whole of Europe belongs to them just as much as any one part of it. And if the reader is not European, the aim is to offer keys for deciphering this small continent that has had a disproportionate influence on the shape that took our contemporary world, and to help them understand what to expect when interacting with the European Union or any of its member states.