The European Union as an Alternative to the Nation-State

The article describes the specific character of the European Union-its status as an unfinished federal quasi-state, the EU's potential as one global actor among others and the motivation behind the ongoing process of integration, especially the EU's antithetical character concerning nationalism. The article analyses the different theoretical approaches to explain why the Union has become what it is-and why it has not become a different entity. It also discusses the question of different interests promoting or opposing further integration. The basic argument is that the EU provides-in a period of declining state power-the possibility to reconstruct politics and government on a transnational level.