I NAZIONALISMI E L'UNITA' EUROPEA

Abstract

The essay starts with a critical analysis of the most relevant theories of nationalism in the social sciences and addresses questions such as the emergence of the nation and its ideology-nationalism-that is framed into the broader process of modernization; the intersections between the concepts of nationalism, nation and state; the ambivalent relation between nationalism and democracy; the dual historical root of European nationalism and its transformations in to-day globalized world. Then the focus of the analysis is shifted on the present state of the European Union, and more specifically on the two basic contradictions of European political integration: first, the building of a supranational, multicultural union that makes use of nation states as its bulding blocs, but pretends to get free from the connected nationalisms; second, the transfer by member states to the supranational level of growing portions of their national sovereignty without an equivalent transfer of loyalty and committment by their citizens to the supranational institutions. Finally, the author argues for an effective strategy to build a real supranational union-that is seen as the best way to face the challenges of the contemporay world- through bold reforms of the EU political architecture and the strenghtening of a European identity, a strategy that can also block the resurgence of aggressive nationalism in several EU member states.