| Many of the problems that the members of the | | | | use this language in the course of performing the |
| European Union are expressing with their | | | | necessary administrative functions. Hence the |
| constitution are in matter of fact problems with | | | | need for Christianity with its monastic tradition of |
| they perceive to be the 'one size fits all' idea of | | | | learning, with its schools where Latin or Church |
| policies. The French are loudest in expressing their | | | | Slavonic were taught, with its ability to replace |
| objections and looking at the history of the | | | | tribal particularism with its own universalist |
| evolution of the nation state, perhaps they have | | | | message. To initiate a social revolution of these |
| a point. It took millennia for the idea of the Nation | | | | dimensions, strong leadership and permanent |
| State to evolve into any recognizable shape. So | | | | political institutions had to emerge," Schenker |
| to expect a huge bloc of countries to continue to | | | | writes. It took some European countries millennia |
| integrate without noticeable hiccups would be | | | | before the favorable conditions for the |
| naive.The idea of the modern state as it can still | | | | establishment of a nation state arose with a |
| be seen in Europe and the US was in matter of | | | | central element here often the opposition of |
| fact invented by a Frenchman. Political philosopher | | | | pagans toward ruling by a clergy elite.Bodin's |
| Jean Bodin in his 1576 book Six Livres de la | | | | thinking on political issues was quite similar to that |
| Republique describes a republic as "a just | | | | of thinkers of his generation, including Montaigne, |
| government of several households and of what | | | | Pasquier and Le Roy. These thinkers, like Bodin no |
| they hold in common, with the power of | | | | longer believed that human laws and society very |
| sovereignty". His description and further treatment | | | | closely reflected the immutable principles of the |
| of the subject confirms the great importance the | | | | divine and natural orders, but instead argued that |
| concept 'authority' and 'sovereign rule' has had in | | | | human affairs were generally detached from |
| our formative ideas of statehood. Bodin is a very | | | | these orders and were characterized by a high |
| contradicting scholar. He is said to have been both | | | | degree of particularity, variability and mutability. |
| the proponent of an overly powerful ruling class | | | | However, Bodin did say that the human political |
| -absolute monarchy- as well as an advocate for | | | | order could not subsist without some divine and |
| limiting the power of this sovereign to the | | | | natural foundation. His works are attempts to |
| doorstep of every household.He was the first to | | | | identify a new universal foundation for human |
| hit home the notion of sovereignty as a limited | | | | laws and society, anchored in the divine and |
| entity when he at the time of writing referred to | | | | natural orders and are highly regarded in their |
| mostly feudal and monarchic systems elsewhere | | | | pioneering the nation state until today.Bodin's |
| in the world as simply horrific. Slave master | | | | treatment of the nation state appears to be |
| relations in countries like Russia, Turkey and Iran | | | | motivated by his perception that the limitations of |
| at the time abhorred the Europeans. These | | | | power needed to be made clear. In arguing the |
| countries had a sovereign who was more or less | | | | case for absolute monarchy, he did speak out |
| full master of the "bodies and goods" of his | | | | against abusive taxation policies in outside |
| subjects. The people of Europe would have not | | | | countries, but underlined the need for a well |
| put up with such a regime that took for granted | | | | ordered society which did away with the |
| certain limits to the state's authority, according to | | | | remaining remnants of feudalism. He saw France's |
| Bodin. On the other hand, Bodin was accused of | | | | defense as neccessitating collective payment of |
| being a proponent of unlimited rule. True enough, | | | | soldiers to defend the country against a Spanish |
| Bodin extolled in extravagant terms the | | | | army, which was financed by silver from the New |
| prerogatives of sovereignty; but these did not | | | | World. (This was the first standing army since the |
| include the power to impose new taxes. 'Natural | | | | Romans' more than a thousand years |
| law' forbade this, he said.Bodin cites Seneca to the | | | | earlier.)Incidentally, this was also the occasion on |
| effect that `to Kings appertains the power over | | | | which France established a mercenary economy; |
| all, but property belongs to individuals'" Bodin is | | | | it started to create revenues by keeping imports |
| said to have been very impressed with Europe's | | | | low while pushing exports and subsidizing them. |
| eldest form of democracy, embodied in the | | | | Few political thinkers have been regarded to be at |
| ancient democratic ceremony of the Carantanians | | | | once as innovative and as self- contradictory as |
| (currently in Austria), which he said "had no parallel | | | | Jean Bodin, a statement that would not be totally |
| throughout the world." And perhaps he was right; | | | | out of line describing Europe of today. A number |
| The Slovene community in Carantania was one of | | | | of his ideas were developed in the seventeenth |
| the few at the time to not have slaves. | | | | century, in Germany, the Netherlands and England. |
| Stretching from the river Elbe to the Adriatic Sea, | | | | They either reconciled apparent contradictions |
| its centre was at Gosposvetsko Polje near Krnski | | | | within his thought or exploited their ambiguity for |
| Grad which is in present-day Austrian Carinthia.The | | | | political advantage.It took 300 years--the time until |
| free Carantania became infamous for resisting all | | | | the unification of Germany and Italy in the 19th |
| foreign domination for almost one hundred years, | | | | century--before Bodin's description of the |
| which in this area of tribal Europe was also quite | | | | nation-state came to dominate Europe. But his |
| impressive. Besides leaving a lasting imprint on the | | | | mercantilism was adopted almost immediately by |
| historical memory, their example has inspired | | | | every European government, large or small. It |
| European countries to date as well as the US, | | | | remained the reigning philosophy until Adam Smith |
| where Thomas Jefferson took inspiration from | | | | showed the absurdity of believing (as mercantilism |
| the Six Livres in his constitutional work. The | | | | does) that a nation can get rich by robbing its |
| Carantanians' celebratory democratic institution, | | | | neighbors.Yet twenty-five years after Smith, |
| the installation of a Slovene duke persisted down | | | | mercantilism was still the doctrine that underlay |
| to the year 1414 was quite a remarkable piece of | | | | America's first and most important work in |
| culture even at the time. It took place during a | | | | political theory; The Report on Manufacturers |
| general assembly of all free Carantanian Slavs, by | | | | (1791) by Alexander Hamilton. And almost a |
| voting. A duke would be installed with at a place | | | | century later, in the second half of the 19th |
| called Knezji Kamen (the Prince's Stone) with | | | | century, Bismarck based the new German Empire |
| special rites by a peasant, the embodiment of the | | | | on Bodin's mercantilism as adapted to Europe by |
| people, on whose behalf he invested the duke | | | | Hamilton's great German admirer, Friedrich List, in |
| with power and authority. Just imagine the | | | | his 1841 book, The National System of Political |
| scene.The prince had to make a solemn pledge in | | | | Economy. However discredited as economic |
| public to be fair and just at all times, to defend | | | | theory, mercantilism, not Adam Smith's free |
| Carantania bravely against all enemies, to do | | | | trade, thus became the policy and practice of |
| everything possible to safeguard peace, and to | | | | governments virtually everywhere (except for |
| help the poor. The ceremony at the time was | | | | one century in the UK).The Spanish, predictably, |
| quite unique and attracted the attention of the | | | | never took a liking to Bodin. Their |
| humanist Aeneas Piccolomini, Pope Pius II, who | | | | Counter-Reformation ideas disparaged Bodin as a |
| travelled through Slovene lands, to say that the | | | | politico, second only to Machiavelli in his alleged |
| installation ceremony "was second to none."This | | | | advocacy of the subordination of religion to |
| Robin Hood type democracy is known to have | | | | political ends. By contrast, Italy during its |
| flourished centuries before the adoption of the | | | | Counter-Reformation heydays, did adopt some of |
| Magna Carta in 1215, which is widely regarded as | | | | his ideas but thinkers in this country had difficulties |
| the cornerstone of contemporary western | | | | with his theory of sovereignty. But Bodin has left |
| democracies.This is not to say that Bodin | | | | his strongest imprint on politics in France. Hence, |
| advocated the Carantanian ideas, yet he was | | | | some political commentators regret today's Non in |
| convinced though that human structures as they | | | | France and say that the French for all the |
| had formed did show that they were quite | | | | reasons they may have to do away with the |
| detached from the balance of nature. Primitive | | | | European ideals they themselves are among the |
| tribal democracies of the Carantanian time might | | | | strongest proponents for, is simply a denial of |
| not at all have been compatible either with the | | | | their own origins. "A continental Constitution that |
| statehood that Bodin describes. "In order to | | | | ensures basic human rights and dignities seems to |
| function as viable members of a medieval polity, | | | | be as much a French legacy as anyone else's. [...] |
| states had to possess permanent social | | | | we are awash in examples of people who lightly |
| structures. First of all, a state had to be identified | | | | toss off their hard- earned heritage", writes Dawn |
| with a definite geographical space, a stretch of | | | | Miller, an editorial writer of WVGazette, who fails |
| land whose physical features could imprint | | | | to understand the Non camp, after spending 11 |
| themselveson the collective psyche. Such a | | | | days in a Parisian neighborhood.Others have issued |
| rooting in a particular territory could not be | | | | warnings of doom if the technocrats of Brussels |
| brought about except by centralized political | | | | continue to ride roughshod over the clearly |
| power which could define the territory's limits and | | | | expressed aspirations of member states, |
| organize their defense. This demanded, in turn, the | | | | referring to recent challenges to democratic ideals |
| development of a social hierarchy in which a ruler | | | | that are steeped in plenty historic precedent. |
| and a class of nobles shared the burdens of | | | | "There have been enough hints by the electorates |
| power and were able to interact with their social | | | | of various member states in a sufficiently large |
| counterparts in other states. The definition of | | | | number of national elections to give Brussels a |
| spheres of authority and the stabilization of | | | | sense of what needs to be done. Each time, |
| administrative practices called for the adoption of | | | | election results that have reflected the rise of |
| definite legal procedures for whose formulation a | | | | populist, anti-EU parties (such as occurred in |
| supratribal literary language was needed," | | | | France's last Presidential election) have been |
| describes Alexander M. Schenker, a Yale | | | | dismissed as one-off aberrations", writes Marshall |
| University scholar in his 'An introduction to Slavic | | | | Auerback in his international perspective on He |
| Philology"He then goes on to illustrate that the | | | | says that as a consequence, the underlying |
| void here was filled up by the literate clergy. | | | | political message is ignored and that this is storing |
| Those days, the church pretty much assumed | | | | up more trouble for the future. That is why we |
| political powers as a natural extension to its | | | | already see a vacuum in Brussel which is likely to |
| religious teachings. Bodin, who lived at the time | | | | only get more extensive as time goes along and |
| that Huguenots and Catholics were involved in | | | | no change is made in operating |
| religious strife, advocated more secular, | | | | procedures.Angelique van Engelen is a freelance |
| professionalised political rule that superseded | | | | writer based in the Netherlands, writing for She |
| church domination."Cadres of learned, or at least | | | | writes political reports, news, features, web |
| literate, people had to be developed in order to | | | | content brochures and research. |