Miodrag Bozovic the European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy
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The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy Miodrag Bozovic The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy An Idea for Peace 1 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy The cover: The Smrikve coat of arms is highlighted on a background of sky and clouds, illuminated by the sun, itself represented by the symbol of the Smrikva Bowl. This book is dedicated to a place called Smrikve. Located near the City of Pula, it is the place where Mate and Milka Bencic settled down with their family. Smrikve is a Mediterranean plant, which in English is called juniper. Founded in 1996, the Smrikva Bowl is an annual international children’s tennis tournament taking place in Smrikve. This tournament was born with the vision of promoting values that reach beyond all frontiers – that are cosmopolitan values. Children, sports and music are part of the cosmopolitan world. The Smrikva Bowl symbol was designed in 1996. It represents a tennis ball and a stylised tennis racket. In it some may see the letter “S”, for Smrikva, while others can make out the line we see when we rotate a tennis ball. The birth of this symbol is inspired by modern Spanish art and the city of Barcelona. Carved in wood in 1999, the Smrikve coat of arms is a mosaic of symbols. The green shield with a yellow cross is the city of Pula coat of arms. Pula is found in Istria, in Croatia. In its buildings and foundations we can still see the many civilisations that have lived there, during its over three thousands year history. 2 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy The second symbol we come across is the symbol of the Smrikva Bowl, already represented as the sun in the cover. The tennis ball in the coat of arms once again becomes the sun, the fountain of life. Above the sun we can see the wings of a seagull, which in symbolic terms represent freedom. Looking closely at the coat of arms we can see that these wings are traced by the golden line above the sun. The shape of the coat of arms has two meanings. The first is linked to the shape of Istria, at the bottom tip of which are found the City of Pula and Smrikve. The second meaning is found in the shape of a heart. Love is the cosmopolitan value par excellence, as far as people and humanity are concerned. Many forces have driven human energy over time: ideology, religion, hate, but the purest has always been love. An additional message is worth noting. The shadow in the coat of arms is not a realistic reflection, given the position of the sun. On the contrary this shadow represents the passage of time; like the time dimension we find in Picasso painting. The sense of time in the cover also signifies the importance of intergenerational responsibility. Every person is born without knowing anything about life on this earth. It is the responsibility of every generation to learn, to understand and to preserve all that each of us is born with, so we can try to improve upon it before leaving this earth. Intergenerational responsibility alone will allow future generations to enjoy the beauty of life, the sunsets and the seasons of the earth. The background picture of sky and clouds comes from my desire to show people the sky of Pula, which especially in spring and summer fills up with puffy clouds. The sky turns into a blue meadow full of lots of white sheep. The clouds also represent our thoughts and emotions which come and go and must not tie people down, but should be left to flow… as life flows. These clouds also remind me of the stories my father once told me, of the great fun he had flying his airplane just above the clouds. From a plane the earth seems so small, as do so many human problems. Other symbols shall be left to the eye of the beholder. Smrikve, 2005 Miodrag Bozovic 3 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy Italian - original - version printed in Milan May 2005 Copy not for sale Translated in English by Patrizia Pellizari and reviewed by Miodrag Bozovic May 2009 4 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy THE EUROPEAN UNION AND COSMOPOLITAN DEMOCRACY An Idea for Peace 5 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy 6 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy “The Art of Loving”, Eric Fromm He who knows nothing, loves nothing. He who can do nothing understands nothing. He who understands nothing is worthless. But he who understands also notices, loves, sees… The more knowledge is inherent in a thing, the greater the love… Anyone who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time as the strawberries knows nothing about grapes. Paracelsus 7 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy 8 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy INDEX Premise................................................................................................. 17 Introduction.......................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER I - Cultural Integration and the European Identity: Historical Perspectives....................................................................... 53 I 1. Introduction.................................................................................... 55 I 2 Greek Culture ....................................................................…........ 63 I 3. Romans and Christianity................................................................ 66 I 4. Charlemagne…………………………………………….............. 70 I 5. Waves of New Populations and Islam…………………………... 73 I 6. Russia............................................................................................. 75 I 7. Western Europe………………………………………….............. 78 I 8. The Renaissance, the Discovery of America and Religious Wars................................................................................................ 81 I 9. Modern Science and the Industrial Revolution ............................. 100 I 10. The French Revolution and the Birth of the Nation .................... 105 I.11. After the Congress of Vienna ...................................................... 111 I 12. The Weight of the Colonies.......................................................... 119 I 13. The Birth of Ideologies................................................................. 126 I 14. The 20th Century: Two World Wars and a Great Project for Peace ...................................................................................... 128 I 15. The European Union and The Cosmopolitan Democracy ........... 140 CHAPTER II – The Peace as Target............................................... 147 II 1. Premise ........................................................................................ 149 II 2. Why people live in society?......................................................... 150 II 2.1. Thomas Hobbes.................................................................... 150 II 2.2. John Locke........................................................................... 158 II 3. Is Peace Possible ?........................................................................ 169 II 3.1. Immanuel Kant..................................................................... 169 CHAPTER III – Searching for Peace in the First Half of the 20th Century................................................................................................ 177 III 1. Premise ....................................................................................... 179 9 The European Union and Cosmopolitan Democracy III 2. Wilsonian Ideas and the League of Nations ............................... 181 III 3. The Search for Peace in Europe between the Two World Wars. 201 III 4. Franklin Delano Roosevelt........................................................ 203 CHAPTER IV – European Integration ........................................ 223 IV 1. Premise ..................................................................................... 225 IV 2. Pre-World War One Ideas for a Unified Europe ...................... 229 IV 3. The World Wars Era …............................................................. 231 IV 4. Key Concepts Developed as premise to the Integration............ 232 IV 4.1. Federalism......................................................................... 232 IV 4.2. Functionalism…................................................................. 234 IV 4.3. Confederalism.................................................................... 235 IV 5. 1950’s......................................................................................... 238 IV 6. 1960’s......................................................................................... 252 IV 7. 1970’s......................................................................................... 259 IV 8. 1980’s......................................................................................... 269 IV 9. 1990’s......................................................................................... 277 IV 10. 2000-2005................................................................................. 291 CHAPTER V – The Nationalism Problem Across Europe........... 299 V 1. Why is there War?....................................................................... 301 V 2. Critical European Areas: the Ethnic Factor................................. 312 V 2.1. Western Europe .................................................................. 312 V 2.2. Central and Eastern Europe ................................................ 317 V 2.3. The Balkans: Focus on ex-Yugoslavia………………….... 328 V 2.4. European CIS…….............................................................