European Union within the Context of “World-State” and “European Universalism” in the History of Western Political Thought

European Union within the Context of “World-State” and “European Universalism” in the History of Western Political Thought

DEMIREL, Idris
GUL, Huseyin

There is a historical background and assumptions which form the essentials of European/Western civilization. These assumptions and fundamentals also form the economic, social and political structures of the European/Western civilization. One of the important elements of these fundamentals is the ideal of “World state” and “European Universalism”. The political thought based on the “polis-centered” political thought represented by Platon and Socrates was transformed especially by the stoic philosophers during the Hellenistic and Roman period into the ideals of “brotherhood of the human beings” and “world state”. Late Christian philosopher St Augustinus has developed the ideal of “unity of human beings” through philosophy of law. During the late medieval and early modern period, Dante put this ideal into a more secular context. These views can be analyzed through the “European Universalism” approach developed by Immanuel Wallerstein. The purpose of the study is to approach the European Union in the light of this historical background and with a critical perspective. Keywords: Political thought, civilization, West/Europe, World State, European Universalism, European Union.

Article
PeerReviewed

ISSN 2303-4564

International Burch University

2013-05-10

1607