From a united Europe, to a more united world

From a united Europe, to a more united world

Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa argues that a key priority is to frame a new world order along the lines indicated in the United Nations Charter which demands that Europe must lead on values and democratic legitimacy.

Billions of people have followed on their television screens the attacks on the Twin Towers, the subsequent war in Afghanistan, the anger of Islamic movements and the citizens of Kabul rejoicing at their liberation, the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and the continuation of the tragic war in Israel. People around the world have been watching, listening and taking sides. Future attitudes towards terrorist attacks will depend very much on this massive worldwide process of communication and assessment, since sooner or later peoples’ feelings affect those who rule.

The governments and citizens of the rich countries of the West – the United States and the European Union – bear a special responsibility. The direction that events take in the post-September 11 world largely depend on our answer to the key question: what should be done? Whether the basis for international peace, justice and prosperity is strengthened or weakened depends on us. We will ultimately determine how much more pain is necessary for a new world order to be established, based on freedom and justice.

It was essential in the first instance that the West countered terrorism through the use of the military and the police. The United States, under attack, simply had to react, and the use of force in Afghanistan was a necessary step towards re-establishing peace.Security and interdependence

However, it is a fact that the West has an economic and military force incomparably superior to any other country or region in the world. The West is actually close to global hegemony and that makes the developing world feel uneasy. As the main international powers after the First and Second World War created the League of Nations and then the United Nations in an attempt to define a new world order, today’s powers have the responsibility to drive global progress. It is up to the West to break the vicious circle of hatred and violence.

We can do that if we broaden our notion of responsibility, if we constrain ourselves without reneging on our freedom, if we adjust our economies without abandoning their rules, if we use our power to create a superior authority, and if we ensure our security serves the security of others.

For the wealthy, security means freedom to travel and living one’s daily life without fearing criminal threats or feeling part of a minority surrounded by a hostile environment. For the poor, security means escaping physical and political violence, and the painful struggle to survive. Globalisation means that neither the rich nor the poor will be safe in isolation. The security of one requires the security of the other.

However, there is insufficient awareness of this ‘reciprocal’ nature of security in the Western world. We do not seem to believe in the values and rules which form the basis of our social contract with enough conviction to spread them across the world. The Western establishment is not inspired by the sense of shared mission that stirred earlier periods of history.

Establishing a global order based on the rule of law

Today’s overwhelming task is to frame a new world order along the lines indicated in the United Nations Charter, empowering common institutions to make decisions and take action. Far from undertaking this challenge, the Western world is torn apart by serious splits.

The first rift stems from the West’s view of itself. An unconditional defence of the status quo and radical anti-Western movements live side-by-side. These are extremist approaches that have dangerously narrowed the scope for critical evalua tion and reform of society, economics and politics.

Those worshipping the present system do not realise that the majority of humanity looks at the homo occidentalis with resentment, envy and contempt. They believe that military power is a strong enough shield. Equally shortsighted are those who think that the first obstacle on the way to freedom and justice is the West itself. Progress will be impossible if Western elites do not reject both positions.

In fact, the values that should be at the core of a social contract for humanity – peace, freedom, prosperity and justice – developed in the West. Western civilisation has produced them and has elaborated the religious, philosophical and political thinking behind them. Finally, Western countries have built, tested and improved the most appropriate institutions to pursue them. Of course this evolution has not been linear and is still unfinished, but the distinctive feature of Western civilisation is perhaps this dynamism and inclination to change.

It is therefore very unlikely that significant developments at the global level can take place in the absence of the active commitment and support of public opinion and governments in Western countries.

A second and no less important division separates the United States from Europe. The principal characteristics of the US include a very solid and deep-rooted democratic experience, the rule of law, successful multicultural and multi-religious assimilation. However, a dangerous sense of innocence, the imperial temptation to abuse military and economic superpower and the refusal to recognise a superior global power are also central to the ‘American way’.

Europe must lead on values and democratic legitimacy

There has been much debate about the United States’ alleged espousal of a “Hobbesian” doctrine based on power and the projection of power and an alleged European commitment to a “Kantian” model based on the rule of universal law. In our respective histories both European and the US have espoused both models in differing degrees at different times. But, following hundreds of years of wars, Europe shows more awareness of its faults and mistakes and has reacted by launching the ambitious project of shaping a supranational framework of government. From an international standpoint, Europe has a long experience of exchange with other cultures and religions. However, Europe still falls short of making its integration politically relevant to the rest of the world, and in so doing it abdicates its responsibilities and drifts into a state of moral and political inertia.

Only the combination of European wisdom and American force can provide a decisive input to build a world order based on common institutions and on a partial limitation of national sovereignty. Europe has already learnt from experience that trying to maintain a permanent balance of power is not a stable solution for peace but a breeding ground for future war. Europe could establish a real “special relationship” with the United States, the sort of relationship the United Kingdom pretends to enjoy, and thereby change the course of history.

Only Europe, based on the same bedrock of values and democratic political legitimacy, can constrain the hegemonic temptations of the US. Europe is strong enough to modify the international political picture, but not enough to take an imperial stance. Europe enjoys a better reputation in the developing world than the US and many major sources of conflict are on its borders: the Balkans, Middle East and Central Africa. That gives Europe a comparative advantage in establishing bridges towards these areas of crisis and in understanding the roots of conflicts.

However, the move from declaratory statements and empty wishes to effective action requires that Europe draws from the progress achieved so far, the key implications for political integration. This means, beyond Monet ary Union, a single framework for decision and action in the fields of security, defence, the fight against crime and immigration. It also implies a single representation in international organisations, and pulling together the resources to sustain common policies. This of course does not mean building a European superstate, as some fear, but acting together when shared interests require common action.

The West has a fundamental task to accomplish in the world, and Europe has a fundamental task to accomplish in the West. Striving for a united Europe is the same as striving for a united world tomorrow.

Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa is a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank.

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