Being or Becoming European: Aspects on Democracy Development in Eastern Europe

1
Being or Becoming EuropeanAspects on Democracy
Development in Eastern Europe
Lecture at the Institute of International
Relations and Political Science of Vilnius
University, May 3rd 2007
2
Political conflict and consensus in historical
perspective

• The Common Legacy
• Territories and Borders Identities and
  Boundaries
• What is Europe?
• Conceptual maps
• Imposed Differences and External Powers
• Being European
• An Occidental Identity?
• Interpreting European Integration
• One or two Moda Operandii
• Enhancing Democracy
• Lessons from the past
• Democracy, States and Nations
• Stability, Borders and Boundaries

3
The Common Legacy
4
Are Continents Natural?
5
Europe- a concept and a topography
Antiquity centred on the Mediterranean
6
From The Sea in the Middle of the Earth to The
Continental Peninsula
7
From The Sea in the Middle of the Earth to The
Continental Peninsula
The City Belt
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Conceptual maps

• A way of mapping commonalities and differences in
  Europe

9
Dimensions i Rokkans Conceptual Map
Does the state contain a conquest centre?
1. City Power
Yes
No
The City Belt
Yes
Does the state contain important trading cities?
Periphery- states
Empire- states
No
1550 The Reformation State Churches
1648 Mixing Cuius Regio Cuius Religio
1789 The French Revolution Secularism and
Neutrality
2. Religion
1600 Counter Reformation Dualism
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West
East
City- power
Conquest centre -
-
- Trading cities - -/
-
-
Landw. Peri.
Seaw. Peri.
Seaw.Emp.St.
Citybelt
Landw.Emp.St.
North
Iceland
Denmark
Sweden
Finland
Prot. State- church
Norway
The Hanse
England
Preussia
Estonia
Scotland
Latvia
Wales
Northern- Ireland
Netherlands
Germany
The Czech Rep.
France
Mixed Secular
Religion and state
Switzerland
Rhineland FRG
Lithuania
Belgium
Bavaria
Eire
Counter- reform. Catholic
Spain
Poland
Luxembourg
Austria
Portugal
?
S. Italy
N. Italy
Hungary
Slovakia
South
Sloven./Kroa.
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A revision of Rokkans conceptual map to fit the
situation in Central and Eastern Europe

• External and interface periphery states
• Rokkan treats the eastern periphery states as
  external, while their histories are dominated by
  being interface peripheries between western
  empire stats and eastern historical empires
• Religious extension
• Rokkans map only includes the countries of
  western Christianity
• Orthodoxy must be included as well as
• Islam, to cover the state- and nation-building
  processes of all contemporary European democracies

12
A revised conceptual map
Religious heritage
Late, devolved Western periphery states
Early states formed in cores of Western seaward
empires
City belt Europe
States based on former core nations of Central
European empire states
Late, devolved states from Central European
empires
Late, devolved states from Eastern empires
Eastern empires

Protestant counties
Iceland Norway (Scotland) (Wales) Prot.
Denmark UK Prot.
Sweden Prot.
Finland Prot.
Estonia Latvia Prot.

Mixed or substantially secularized countries
(Ulster) Prot./Cath.
Netherlands Switzerland Prot./Cath/ Sec.
France Sec./Cath.
Germany Prot./Cath./ Sec..
Czechoslov. Czech Rep. Cath./Sec.
Belarus Ukraine Orth./Sec./ Cath
Russia USSR Sec./ Orth.
Counter- reformation countries non-secularized O
rthodox countries
Eire Cath.
Spain Portugal Cath.
Belgium N-Italy Cath
Austria Hungary Cath.
Slovakia Rest Italy Slovenia Croatia Cath.
.
Lithuania Poland Cath. Romania Bulgaria Serbia FYR
OM Greece Orth.
.




Turkey Mus./ Sec.
Albania Kosovo Mus./Sec.
Muslim countries
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A revised conceptual map
Religious heritage
Late, devolved Western periphery states
Early states formed in cores of Western seaward
empires
City belt Europe
States based on former core nations of Central
European empire states
Late, devolved states from Central European
empires
Late, devolved states from Eastern empires
Eastern empires

Protestant counties
Iceland Norway (Scotland) (Wales) Prot.
Denmark UK Prot.
Sweden Prot.
Finland Prot.
Estonia Latvia Prot.

Mixed or substantially secularized countries
(Ulster) Prot./Cath.
Netherlands Switzerland Prot./Cath/ Sec.
France Sec./Cath.
Germany Prot./Cath./ Sec..
Czechoslov. Czech Rep. Cath./Sec.
Belarus Ukraine Orth./Sec./ Cath
Russia USSR Sec./ Orth.
Counter- reformation countries non-secularized O
rthodox countries
Eire Cath.
Spain Portugal Cath.
Belgium N-Italy Cath
Austria Hungary Cath.
Slovakia Rest Italy Slovenia Croatia Cath.
.
Lithuania Poland Cath. Romania Bulgaria Serbia FYR
OM Greece Orth.
.




Turkey Mus./ Sec.
Albania Kosovo Mus./Sec.
Muslim countries
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The Central and East European Space
Religious heritage
Late, devolved Western periphery states
Early states formed in cores of Western seaward
empires
City belt Europe
States based on former core nations of Central
European empire states
Late, devolved states from Central European
empires
Late, devolved states from Eastern empires
Eastern empires

Protestant counties
Iceland Norway (Scotland) (Wales) Prot.
Denmark UK Prot.
Sweden Prot.
Finland Prot.
Estonia Latvia Prot.

Mixed or substantially secularized countries
(Ulster) Prot./Cath.
Netherlands Switzerland Prot./Cath/ Sec.
France Sec./Cath.
Germany Prot./Cath./ Sec..
Czechoslov. Czech Rep. Cath./Sec.
Belarus Ukraine Orth./Sec./ Cath
Russia USSR Sec./ Orth.
Counter- reformation countries non-secularized O
rthodox countries
Eire Cath.
Spain Portugal Cath.
Belgium N-Italy Cath
Austria Hungary Cath.
Slovakia Rest Italy Slovenia Croatia Cath.
.
Lithuania Poland Cath. Romania Bulgaria Serbia FYR
OM Greece Orth.
.




Turkey Mus./ Sec.
Albania Kosovo Mus./Sec.
Muslim countries
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Being European

• An Occidental Identity?

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Orient and Occident
The Occident
The Orient
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Times-Mirror ca. 1990
Asking the French Who are European ?
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Times-Mirror ca. 1990
Asking the Poles Who are European ?
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Times-Mirror ca. 1990
Longitudes and European Identity
Europeans live in your own timezone or to the
west of this timezone
?
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Cultural parameters
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Interpreting European Integration

• One or two Moda Operandii ?

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A Unilinear Understanding of theHistory of
European Integration

• Charlemagnes attempts to recreate and extend the
  West Roman Empire
• When this failed, it left behind a notion of Holy
  Roman Empire, Catholic Universalism and Canonical
  Law and medieval of civilized norms
• Philip II and Charles V tried to unify Europe
  under the Habsburg Crown
• When this failed, it left behind the
  Westphalian state system
• Napoleon tried to conquer Europe
• When this failed, it left behind the French
  notions of Nation and Democracy
• Hitlers attempted conquest
• When this failed, it left behind the idea of
  stronger cooperation between European
  democracies First NATO, then the EU

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An alternative understanding of theHistory of
European Integration
Two moda operandii
Political incorporation Formation of Empire
States Attempted European Conquest Top-down
Economic integration Originates in the City
Belt Develops International Instruments Bottom-up
Conquest Centre
Common and Central Standards
Incorporates
Needs
City in Trade network
Periphery
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Two historical examples

• ECONOMICALLY DRIVEN POLITICAL CONSOLIDATION
  Common economic interests including some shared
  cultural values leads to military-administrative
  integration
• Switzerland
• An Oath Commonwealth to control the Cross
  Alpine Trade from 1294
• Popular Myths as cultural commonality Wilhelm
  Tell
• No Central Government until it was imposed by
  French occupation in 1797

• STATE BUILDING Military-administrative
  consolidation leads to common infrastructure,
  taxes, coinage and internal markets and common
  norms, symbols and values
• France
• Merovingian Kings from the 700s
• Colberts mercantilism and Richelieus French
  Academy establishing a State under Absolute Rule
  during the 1600s
• The Economy of Southern France subjected to Paris
  during the 1800s

Top Down
Bottom UP
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Two more complex examples

• Germany
• Slow dissolution of Medieval Empire finally
  completed in 1806
• Modern east-west infrastructure development
  (railways) from the 1850s
• Nord-Deutche Zollverein
• This becomes more important than the German
  language community and the Imperial Habsburg
  heritage
• A new Germany oriented east-west in the North
  from 1870

• Spain
• La Reconquista 732-1492
• Catholic standardization, struggles against
  Moors, Jews and Heretics later consolidation
  through Counter Reformation and Inquisition
• Economic integration of the Atlantic orientation
  of Castile with the Mediterranean orientation of
  Aragon

Top Down
Bottom UP
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Statehood challenged by economic integration today

• The Euro has replaced or threatens National
  Currencies
• The European Central Bank has usurped power
  from the National Central Banks
• European infrastructure development through the
  Structural Funds and Cross National
  infrastructure projects
• EU standardization through directives

• Economic institutions Banks, currency banks and
  national banks
• Monetization Standard national coin and currency
• Infrastructure Mail, telecommunications,
  transport networks
• National standards Measurement, weight, consumer
  information

• But these European challenges may not be as
  new as we think.
• Let us look at some examples!

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The Early Banks 1400-1600
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Early Currency Unions 1865-1927
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Membership in the International Postal Union
1875-2001
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Implementing the Metric System 1795-1910
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Summary
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Pre-EU Economic Penetration More modern than we
think?

• In all four examples, City Belt States are among
  the innovators
• These are always supported by at least one
  Western Empire State
• If the original 6 EU members had existed within
  a similar organization in the past, there would
  have been a majority of the six countries for all
  four strategies
• Three of the four strategies would also have
  carried majorities had the extended EU existed in
  the past
• Periphery States are seldom innovators
• Norways and Greeces position as innovators do
  not reflect so much a desire for European
  solutions, but rather reflect an opportunity to
  assert national independence

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Enhancing Democracy

• Lessons from the past

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The breakdown of democracy
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Democratic survival classification of European
countries in inter-war Europe (short-lived and
semi-independent state formations are
parenthesized)
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Democratic survival classification of European
countries in inter-war Europe (short-lived and
semi-independent state formations are
parenthesized)
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Democracy and ethnicityDoes nation building
matter?

• Is reduced ethnic strife conducive to democracy?
• Reducing ethnicity has a sombre background

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Ethnic cleansing and resettlement, 194549
Source Crampton and Crampton 1996
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Types of ethnic homogeneity in central and east
european states

• Stable approximate nation-states stable
  definition of the majority nationality, large
  majorities
• Newer approximate nation-states stable
  definition of the majority nationality, large
  majorities today but smaller majorities in the
  inter-war era
• Recent approximate nation-states devolved from
  dissolved Mini-Empires large or medium-large
  majorities today, small majorities or minorities
  prior to the recent dissolution of the
  Mini-Empire states
• Former approximate nation-states with a decreased
  majority population today

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Demos-BordersEthnos-Bounderies
Ideal national state
d-ians
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Demos-BordersEthnos-Bounderies
Titular national state
d-ians
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Demos-BordersEthnos-Bounderies
National state with minorities in
neighbouring countries
d-ians
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Demos-BordersEthnos-Bounderies
Titular national state with minority in
neighbouring country and scattered diasporas
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Demos-BordersEthnos-Bounderies
Original notion of diaspora
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Demos-BordersEthnos-Bounderies
Interface minority of e-ians in C
External minority of x-ians in C
e-ians
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• The censuses of the inter-war period are
  generally unreliable in their estimates of the
  size of ethnic minorities. The figures are,
  nevertheless, interesting as expressions of
  perceived size of regime-proclaimed core
  populations.
• For Bulgarias current ethnic population our
  source only indicates that national minorities
  exceed 10 per cent.
• The Polish inter-war estimates are highly
  questionable. Polish nationality was at last
  partly determined by the ability of the
  respondent to understand the census-taker when
  addressed in Polish.
• Source Berglund and Aarebrot 1997, 161 data
  from Crampton and Crampton 1996

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Classification of countries by ethnic diversity
and diasporas

• Reborn and new states with majoritarian national
  core populations
• Approximate nation states with dominant national
  core populations
• without substantial diasporas in neighbouring
  countries
• with diasporas in neighbouring countries
• States with strong national core populations, but
  with interface minorities from neighbouring
  countries core nationalities
• Reborn states with majoritarian national core
  populations, but with national minorities
  comprising the core populations of neighbouring
  former historical empires
• Former historical empires, presently large states
  with a majoritarian core population

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Ukraine Belarus Russians
Serbia In B-H Albanians
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Challenges to Statehood Territorial integrity
Weak High likelihood of containing challenges as
maifest cleavages within a democratic polity
Strong Possible difficulties in containing
nationalist demands based on seperatism or
irredentism
Challenges to nationhood Secular dominance
Challenges to the nation-state The imperial
heritage
Ukraine Belarus Russians
Strong Possible difficulties in containing
nationalism in combination with religious or
secular cleavages
Very strong in a situation of a possible combined
territorial and religious challenge
Serbia In B-H Albanians
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Questions for the future

• Representation in the European Parliament is
  based on the Demos as the Constituency
• What about the representation of Ethnos?
• Hungarians from Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and
  Serbia ( Overrepresentation ?)
• Macedonians from half of Macedonia the rest
  Albanians ( Underrepresentation ?)
• The Case of Belgian cultural federalisation

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Political stability and democracy

• Political fragmentation
• An exaggerated problem?
• A temporal problem
• New cleavages rather than historical cleavages
• Is cleavage continuity necessarily a good thing?
• Increasing similarities to the rest of Europe?
• Continuity of political style across regimes

53
Three dimensions of continuity and their impact
on the cleavage structure
1900
1939
1989
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Lessons from history

• Central and Eastern European democracy have
  already today endured longer than during the
  inter-war years
• Why? Six possible answers
• European integration and realistic mutual defence
  are real prospects
• A paradoxical legacy of communism High education
  levels and prospective larger middle classes than
  ever before
• Economies less dependent on the primary sector
  than ever before. Modernization
• Stable monetary policies
• Present, but fewer national minorities than
  during the inter-war years
• Secularization, another legacy of communism?