Contents

1 Introduction................................................................................................... 1

References.........................................................................................................

Part I From the City State to the Roman Empire

2 From the Origins to the Polis.................................................................... 9

2.1 From Nomadic to Sedentary Society: The Neolithic

Revolution.............................................................................................................. 10

2.2 The First Literate Societies: Power and Social Structure in the

Great Ancient Civilization of the Near East............................................................. 11

2.2.1 The Civilizations of the Indus Valley................................. 11

2.2.2 Egypt Under the Pharaohs................................................. 12

2.2.3 Power in Ancient Mesopotamia......................................... 13

2.2.4 Confucius and the Origin of the State in China.... 14

2.3 Family and Power in the West........................................................... 16

2.3.1 The Indo-Europeans Lay the Linguistic and Social

Foundations of Western Culture.............................................................................. 16

2.3.2 Indo-European Family Structure and the Formation

of Society in the West: From the Tribe to the City... 16

2.4 The Greek Polis as the First Precursor of the State in the West... 19

2.4.1 An Initial Stage of Monarchy: The Minoan and

Mycenaean Civilizations......................................................................................... 19

2.4.2 From the Homeric Kingdoms to the Appearance

of the Polis (800-500 bc).......................................................................................

2.4.3 Synoecism as the Basis of the Polis.................................... 21

2.4.4 The Consolidation of the Polis and Its Aristocratic

Model: The Case of Sparta...................................................................................... 22

2.4.5 The People Versus the Aristocrats: The Origin of the

“Democratic” System............................................................................................. 24

2.4.6 Athens’ Cleisthenes, History’s First “Democrat”.... 25

2.4.7 Pericles’ Athens................................................................ 26

2.5 The Drawbacks of the Polis Model............................................................. 26

2.5.1 The Division of Hellas....................................................... 27

2.5.2 Attempts to Improve Upon the Polis Model................... 27

References....................................................................................................... 33

3 The Roman Political Model: From ResPublica to Imperium............. 37

3.1 Rome and the Origins of the Western State........................................ 38

3.1.1 The Flaw of the Polis Model.............................................. 38

3.1.2 The Roman Civitas: An Expanding Polis........................... 39

3.2 The Indo-European Origins of Roman Society and the

Structural Basis for the Roman Civitas.................................................................... 40

3.2.1 Gentilitates, Curiae and Tribus.......................................... 41

3.2.2 The Popular Assemblies as the Basis of the Roman

Republic................................................................................................................. 42

3.3 An Aristocratic Polis......................................................................... 43

3.3.1 The Leadership of the Roman Aristocracy.......................... 43

3.3.2 A Political Constitution Designed to Prevent

Dictatorship............................................................................................................

3.4 From Republic to Empire.................................................................. 47

3.4.1 An Extraordinary Territorial Expansion............................. 47

3.4.2 From Conquest to Stable Dominion................................... 47

3.4.3 The Consequences of Rome’s Territorial Expansion:

The Crisis of the Republican System....................................................................... 48

3.5 Augustus and the Singular Reestablishment of the Republican

Regime................................................................................................................... 50

3.5.1 The First Citizen................................................................ 50

3.5.2 From Diarchy to Monarchy: The Birth of the Roman

Empire................................................................................................................... 52

3.6 The Era of the Dominate, or the Triumph of Imperial

Absolutism............................................................................................................ 54

3.6.1 From Imperator to Dominus.............................................. 54

3.6.2 The Disappearance of the Republican System............... 55

3.7 An Avant La Lettre State................................................................. 56

3.8 Roman Citizenship: History’s First “Nationality”?.............................. 57

References....................................................................................................... 61

4 From Territorial Power to Spiritual Rule: Christianity’s

Political Dimension...................................................................................... 65

4.1 Church and State in the Western Tradition......................................... 66

4.2 The Origins of Christianity................................................................ 67

4.2.1 It All Started with Judaism.................................................

4.2.2 A Provincial Jew Named Jesus, Aka “Christ”................ 68

4.2.3 Had It Not Been for St. Paul.............................................. 70

4.3 Christianity and the Roman Empire................................................... 72

4.3.1 A Threat to the Empire?..................................................... 72

4.3.2 From Forbidden Cult to Official State Religion

(380 ad)................................................................................................................ 73

4.3.3 The Origins of Catholicism................................................ 76

4.3.4 Emperors vs. Bishops: “Caesaropapism”............................ 78

4.4 The Church as a Political Body.......................................................... 79

4.4.1 The Origin of the Ecclesiastical Profession:

Bishops, Deacons and Presbyters............................................................................ 79

4.4.2 The Development of Church Organization:

Parishes and Dioceses............................................................................................. 80

4.4.3 Metropolitans and Patriarchs.............................................. 81

4.4.4 The Councils as Collective Decision-Making

Bodies.................................................................................................................... 81

4.4.5 The Origins of the Papacy as a Moral Authority.... 82

References....................................................................................................... 85

Part II The Origins of the European “Nations”

5 From the Germanic Tribes to Kingdoms.................................................. 93

5.1 The Invasions.................................................................................... 94

5.1.1 The First Germanic Wave: The Visigoths

(Late Fourth Century)............................................................................................ 94

5.1.2 The Second Wave: The Suebi, Vandals and

Alani (Early Fifth Century).....................................................................................

5.1.3 The Third Wave: Franks, Burgundians, Alamanni,

Angles and Saxons (Mid Fifth Century).................................................................. 96

5.1.4 The Last Wave: The Lombards.......................................... 97

5.2 The Germanic Kingdoms................................................................... 97

5.2.1 Diversity Versus Unity...................................................... 97

5.2.2 The Social and Political Transformation of the

Germanic Peoples................................................................................................... 98

5.2.3 Roman Monarchy vs. German Royalty.............................. 99

5.2.4 The Gradual Assimilation of the Roman Imperial

Tradition.............................................................................................................. 101

5.2.5 The Structural Weaknesses of the New Kingdoms:

Patrimonial Possession, Inheritance and Protofeudalism....................................... 102

5.3 The Church and the Preservation of the Roman “State”

Tradition.............................................................................................................. 103

5.3.1 The Emergence of the Monastic Movement.................. 103

5.3.2 St. Gregory the Great and the Consolidation of

Papal Authority................................................................................................... 104

5.3.3 Christianity and the New Germanic Peoples................. 105

5.3.4 The Church and the “Romanization” of the

Germanic Kingdoms............................................................................................. 106

5.4 The Origin of the European “Nations?”........................................... 108

References..................................................................................................... 115

6 Popes vs. Emperors: The Rise and Fall of Papal Power....................... 121

6.1 The Transformation of the Papacy: From Spiritual to

Temporal Power...................................................................................................

6.1.1 The Popes vs. the Byzantines and Lombards................. 122

6.1.2 The Alliance with the Frankish Monarchy and the

Rise of the Papal States......................................................................................... 123

6.2 Charlemagne and the Resurgence of the Imperial Idea in

the West............................................................................................................... 126

6.2.1 Charlemagne and the End of the Lombardian

Kingdom.............................................................................................................. 126

6.2.2 The Appearance of the Kingdom of Italy......................... 126

6.2.3 The Reappearance of the Imperial Idea in the West... 127

6.3 From the Carolingian Empire to the Holy Roman Empire.... 129

6.3.1 The Frankish Monarchy Dissociates Itself from

the Empire........................................................................................................... 129

6.3.2 The Germanic Revival of the Imperial Idea................... 130

6.4 The Era of “Papal Theocracy”, or the Peak of Ecclesiasticism... 134

6.4.1 Ecclesiastical Decline During the Feudal Period.............. 134

6.4.2 The Ecclesiastical Resurgence: The Eastern Schism,

Cluny and the Gregorian Reform.......................................................................... 136

6.4.3 The Papacy’s Power Swells............................................. 139

6.4.4 The Legal Consequences of the Papal Victory: The

Secularization of Non-ecclesiastical Public Authorities......................................... 140

6.4.5 Papal Decline and the Fragmentation of Europe.... 140

6.5 The Survival of the Imperial Idea................................................... 142

References..................................................................................................... 147

7 From Public to Private Power: Europe in the Feudal Age................... 153

7.1 The Origins of Feudalism................................................................ 154

7.1.1 The Administrative Shortcomings of the Carolingian

Monarchy............................................................................................................ 154

7.1.2 Vassaldom: A Formula for Permanent Control over

Local Authorities................................................................................................. 155

7.1.3 The Limits of the Feudal Relationship: Its Lifelong

Character............................................................................................................. 157

7.1.4 The Consuetudinary and Judicial Regulation of

Vassal Relations................................................................................................... 157

7.2 The Consolidation of the Feudal System: The Era of “Classic

Feudalism”........................................................................................................... 158

7.2.1 The Degradation of the System: From Lifelong to

Hereditary Benefits............................................................................................... 158

7.2.2 The Transformation of the Feudal Relationship.... 160

7.2.3 The Accumulation of Fiefdoms........................................ 160

7.2.4 From Public to Private Rule: The “Feudal

Revolution”.......................................................................................................... 161

7.3 The Church as a Bulwark Against the Disintegration of Public

Power................................................................................................................... 162

7.3.1 The Defense of Royal Authority...................................... 162

7.3.2 The Armed Church.......................................................... 163

7.3.3 Moral vs. Political Commitment...................................... 164

7.3.4 The Ecclesiastical Imposition of Peace: The Peace

and Truce of God Movement................................................................................ 165

7.4 Feudalism and the “Pactist Concept” of Power................................. 167

References..................................................................................................... 170

Part III The Origins of the “European States”

8 From Kings to Monarchs: The Resurgence of Public Power

in Late Medieval Europe........................................................................... 177

8.1 Late Medieval Monarchy and the Origin of the Western State... 178

8.2 From Kings to Monarchs................................................................. 178

8.2.1 The Consolidation of the Hereditary Principle as

the Basis of Royal Legitimacy.............................................................................. 179

8.2.2 A Territorial Monarchy.................................................... 182

8.2.3 An Expanding Monarchy................................................. 183

8.2.4 An Administrative Monarchy........................................... 183

8.3 The Triumph of Monarchy Over Christian Universalism............... 185

8.4 The Medieval Origins of the “Rule of Law”: Pacts as a

Legal Restraint on Territorial Monarchy............................................................... 187

8.4.1 The Nobility’s Resistance to Losing Its Political

Power................................................................................................................... 188

8.4.2 Urban Autonomy............................................................. 188

8.5 Towards the Shared Exercise of Power............................................ 190

8.5.1 The Rise of State Assemblies........................................... 190

8.5.2 The Origins of the Representative Principle.................. 192

8.6 A King Subject to the Law............................................................... 197

8.7 Europe’s First “Constitutional” Texts?......................................... 198

References..................................................................................................... 203

9 The Apogee of Royal Power: Absolute Monarchy

(The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries)............................................ 211

9.1 From Territorial to Absolute Monarchy........................................... 212

9.1.1 The Modern Age and the Triumph of Royal

Absolutism........................................................................................................... 212

9.1.2 From Christian Universalism to Independent

Monarchies........................................................................................................... 212

9.1.3 Searching for a New Legitimacy: The Prevention

of Anarchy as a Justification for Power................................................................. 216

9.2 The Abandonment of Medieval Pact-Based Rule............................. 220

9.2.1 Cities’ Loss of Political and Legal Autonomy............... 220

9.2.2 The Subjugation of the Nobility....................................... 223

9.2.3 The Decline of the Assemblies of the Estates................ 224

9.3 The State of the Prince.................................................................... 229

9.3.1 The Expansion of Royal Jurisdiction................................ 230

9.3.2 A King Above the Law?.................................................. 231

9.4 Absolutism Versus Autocracy: The Legal Limits of Royal

Absolutism.......................................................................................................... 234

9.4.1 Absolute Kings, Constrained by Divine and Natural

Law...................................................................................................................... 235

9.4.2 The Limits of “Fundamental Laws”................................. 236

9.4.3 Respect for Traditional Customs...................................... 237

9.4.4 The Relative Autonomy of the Ancien Regime’s

Judges.................................................................................................................. 238

9.5 Absolute Monarchy and the Increasing Power of the

European States.................................................................................................... 240

9.5.1 The Technical Advantages of Absolutism........................ 241

9.5.2 The Administrative Expansion of Absolute

Monarchies.......................................................................................................... 242

9.5.3 Towards a Europe of “National” Monarchies................ 244

References.................................................................................................... 249

10 From the Conservative King to the Reformist Monarch:

The Stage of Enlightened Absolutism (Eighteenth Century).............. 257

10.1 The Crisis of Classic Absolutism..................................................... 258

10.1.1 A Century of Transformation........................................... 258

10.1.2 The “Philosophes” and the Kings..................................... 259

10.1.3 Absolutism vs. Despotism............................................... 260

10.2 A New Legitimacy: From Christian to Secular Monarchs................ 260

10.3 Enlightened Reformism or the New Spirit of Absolute Power... 264

10.3.1 The State: From Guardian of Order to Protector,

Educator and Reformer......................................................................................... 264

10.3.2 The “Depatrimonialization” of the Monarchy

and the Transformation of the State...................................................................... 161

10.4 Enlightened Absolutism and the “Rule of Law”............................... 270

10.4.1 The Enlightened Monarchs and the Law.......................... 270

10.4.2 Frederick II’s Sonderweg................................................. 272

10.4.3 The Rationalization of the Legal System.......................... 273

10.5 The Expansion of Enlightened Absolutism in Eighteenth

Century Europe: The Great Enlightenment Monarchs........................................ 274

10.5.1 The Austrian and the Prussian Models and Its

Reception in Russia.............................................................................................. 274

10.5.2 Portugal in the Pombal Era......................................... 276

10.5.3 The Eighteenth Century Revolution in Spain................ 277

10.5.4 The French and British Exceptions.................................. 279

References.................................................................................................... 281

11 From Absolute to Limited Monarchy: The British Origins

of Parliamentary Government.................................................................. 287

11.1 A Peculiar Constitutional History..................................................... 288

11.2 The Origins of Assembly-Based Government................................... 289

11.2.1 From the Germanic Kingdoms to the Feudal Stage... 289

11.2.2 The Westminster Parliament Appears............................... 291

11.2.3 The Political Consolidation of Parliament........................ 293

11.3 Parliament and the Absolutism of the Tudors................................... 294

11.4 Dynastic Change and the Triumph of Parliament: The Two

English Revolutions of the Seventeenth Century................................................... 296

11.4.1 The Kings of Scotland on the English Throne:

The Stuarts........................................................................................................... 296

11.4.2 The First English Revolution: Oliver Cromwell and

the Only “Republic” in English History................................................................. 297

11.4.3 The Appearance of Political Parties.................................. 297

11.4.4 The Second (and Last) English Revolution (1688)... 298

11.4.5 The Religious Issue and the Transformation of

England’s Constitutional Framework.................................................................... 300

11.5 The Emergence of the United Kingdom and the Consolidation

of Parliamentary Preeminence............................................................................... 301

11.6 The Rise of the Hanover Dynasty and the Formation of the

Parliamentary Regime.......................................................................................... 302

11.6.1 Robert Walpole and the Linguistic Origins of the

Parliamentary Regime........................................................................................... 302

11.6.2 The Consolidation of the “Parliamentary System”... 303

11.6.3 The Democratization of the Parliamentary System

(1832-1928).......................................................................................................... 306

11.6.4 The Consolidation of the Legislative Superiority of the

House of Commons: The Parliament Act (1911).......... 308

11.6.5 The Legislative Recognition of the Prime Minister

(1937).................................................................................................................. 308

References..................................................................................................... 311

Part IV The Rise of the Nation-State

12 From Monarchy to Representative Government: The American

“Revolution”............................................................................................... 321

12.1 Revolution as a Social Instrument of Political Change..................... 322

12.1.1 The Example of Prussian Social Inflexibility................. 322

12.1.2 The English Case: The Gradual Transformation

of a Political Constitution..................................................................................... 323

12.1.3 Rupture as an Instrument of Change: The American

and French Revolutions........................................................................................ 324

12.2 From the War of Independence to the American Revolution... 325

12.3 The First Europeans in the Americas................................................ 326

12.3.1 The Spanish and the Portuguese....................................... 326

12.3.2 French and Dutch Expeditions......................................... 326

12.3.3 The Origins of the English Presence in America... 327

12.4 Spanish vs. English Colonization..................................................... 328

12.4.1 The “Centralized” Model of Spanish Colonization... 328

12.4.2 The English Model: “Decentralized” Colonization... 330

12.5 The Development of English Colonization....................................... 331

12.5.1 The First English Colony: Virginia (1607)....................... 331

12.5.2 Religious Colonization.................................................... 333

12.5.3 The Proprietary Colonies................................................. 336

12.5.4 New Colonies After the Restoration (1660)...................... 338

12.5.5 Political Variety and Legal Autonomy of the

English Colonies in America................................................................................ 341

12.6 The Colonists and the British Crown................................................ 343

12.6.1 The Colonial Explosion................................................... 343

12.6.2 The First American Intervention of the English

Crown: The War Against France.......................................................................... 344

12.6.3 The Price of Victory........................................................ 345

12.6.4 The Fiscal Origins of the Rebellion.................................. 345

12.6.5 The First Continental Congress in Philadelphia

(1774).................................................................................................................. 347

12.7 The War of Independence (1776-1781)............................................ 347

12.7.1 The First Armed Clash: The “Battle” at Lexington

(April 19, 1775).................................................................................................... 347

12.7.2 The Second Continental Congress and the

Declaration of Independence................................................................................. 348

12.7.3 The Course of the Conflict............................................... 348

12.7.4 The Peace of Versailles and the Recognition of a

New Nation: The United States of America........................................................ 350

12.8 The West’s First Liberal State.......................................................... 351

12.8.1 From Locke to Jefferson.................................................. 351

12.8.2 The American Revolution as a Rupture with the

Old Order............................................................................................................. 352

12.8.3 A Precarious “Union”: The Articles of

Confederation....................................................................................................... 355

References.................................................................................................... 358

13 From Absolute Monarchy to Democratic Absolutism:

The French Revolution.............................................................................. 371

13.1 A Turning Point in European Constitutional History........................ 372

13.2 The Monarchy as the Historical Basis of the French State.... 373

13.2.1 From Clovis I to Charlemagne..................................... 374

13.2.2 A Hereditary, Sovereign and Territorial Monarchy... 375

13.2.3 The Hundred Years’ War and the Bolstering of

Monarchical Prestige and Power........................................................................... 376

13.2.4 The Era of Absolutism: Louis XIV’s Monarchy as a Landmark Reign 377

13.3 From the Ancien Regime to the Revolution....................................... 378

13.3.1 Louis XV and the Decline of the French

Monarchy............................................................................................................. 378

13.3.2 Reactionary Forces Prevail in French Society................. 381

13.4 The French Revolution.................................................................... 384

13.4.1 From the Revolt of the Privileged to the Estates

General............................................................................................................... 384

13.4.2 The Estates General......................................................... 386

13.4.3 From the Estates General to the Rebellion of the

Third Estate (May 5-June 27, 1789)...................................................................... 388

13.4.4 The Rebellion of the Third Estate..................................... 389

13.4.5 The Two Revolutions...................................................... 391

13.4.6 From Monarchy to Republic............................................ 392

13.5 What Lasting Effects Did the French Revolution Have?................ 394

13.5.1 The Appearance of “National Sovereignty”...................... 394

13.5.2 The Origins of “National” Patriotism............................... 394

13.5.3 The Symbols of the French State...................................... 395

13.5.4 The Reinforcement of the State........................................ 396

13.5.5 The Social Transformation of France............................... 398

13.5.6 The European Dimension of the French

Revolution........................................................................................................... 398

13.6 The Failure of Assembly-Based Government................................... 399

References.................................................................................................... 405

14 The Return of the Monarchical Principle (I). The Origins of North American Presidentialism......................................................................... 415

14.1 The Development of a Republican “Monarchy”: The

Presidential System.............................................................................................. 416

14.1.1 The Crisis of Democratic Assembly-Based

Governments....................................................................................................... 416

14.1.2 The Resurgence of Executive Power................................ 416

14.2 Thirteen States, One Nation: From the Articles of

Confederation to the Federal Republic.................................................................. 417

14.2.1 The Stage of the Constitutional Debate

(1783-1787)......................................................................................................... 418

14.2.2 The Reopening of a Constitutional Convention.... 420

14.3 The Origins of the Presidential System............................................ 422

14.3.1 The Constitutional Convention Endorses the

Principle of a Strong National Government........................................................... 422

14.3.2 The Placement of Limits on Federal Power: The Strict Application of the Division of Powers and

the Establishment of a “Presidential” System..................................................... 422

14.3.3 A “Great Compromise” for the Legislative Branch

(Congress)............................................................................................................ 423

14.3.4 A President Heading the Executive Branch...................... 423

14.3.5 The Separation of Powers as the Essence of the

Presidential System............................................................................................. 424

14.3.6 The Judicial Power as a Constitutional Referee: The Revolutionary Principle of “Judicial Review” as a Safeguard Against the Tyranny of the Majority.... 424

14.4 A New Constitution for a New Federal State.................................... 425

14.4.1 Approval and Ratification of the Constitution............... 425

14.4.2 A New Limit on Federal Power: The Bill of

Rights.................................................................................................................. 426

14.4.3 The Principle of Term Limits........................................... 427

14.4.4 The Constitution as the New Nation’s Birth

Certificate............................................................................................................ 427

14.5 Relations Between the States and the Federal Government

After 1789............................................................................................................ 427

14.5.1 The Implementation of Judicial Review........................... 429

14.5.2 From 13 to 50 States........................................................ 430

14.5.3 A Problematic Expansion................................................. 434

14.5.4 The Protection of Fundamental Rights:

The Union vs. the States....................................................................................... 437

References.................................................................................................... 443

15 The Return of the Monarchical Principle (II). The French State. From Imperial Bonapartism to Republican Presidentialism....................... 449

15.1 Napoleonic France: From Republic to Monarchy......................... 450

15.1.1 A Genius Named Napoleon Bonaparte.......................... 451

15.1.2 The Peculiar “Napoleonic Constitutionalism”............... 452

15.1.3 A Return to the Roman Model?.................................... 454

15.1.4 A New Monarchy for a New Regime............................ 455

15.2 From Assembly-Based Government to Executive

Government......................................................................................................... 456

15.2.1 Napoleon and State Reform............................................. 456

15.2.2 The Extreme Centralization of the New

Administrative State.................................................... 457

15.2.3 Judicial Reform and the Creation of Administrative

Jurisdiction.......................................................................................................... 457

15.3 An Interventionist State................................................................... 458

15.3.1 Religious Reform............................................................ 459

15.3.2 Economic Reform............................................................ 459

15.3.3 A Failed Attempt at Social Reform: The “Legion

of Honor”............................................................................................................ 460

15.3.4 Educational Reform: Grammar Schools, Special

Schools of Higher Education, and Universities............... 461

15.3.5 Legal Reform and the Unification of Private Law:

Le Code Civil (March 21, 1804)............................................................................ 463

15.4 The Constitutional History of France After Napoleon: From Monarchy to Republic 465

15.4.1 From Absolutist Restoration to the July Monarchy... 465

15.4.2 From the Second Republic to the Second Empire... 466

15.4.3 From the Commune to the Third Republic....................... 468

15.4.4 From Petain’s “French State” to De Gaulle’s

Presidential Republic............................................................................................ 471

15.4.5 French Semi-presidentialism: A Return of the

Napoleonic Model of State?................................................................................. 474

References.................................................................................................... 479

16 The Golden Era of Liberalism and the Apogee of the

Nation-State................................................................................................ 489

16.1 From Absolutism to Liberalism....................................................... 491

16.2 The Europe of the Restoration (1815-1848)..................................... 493

16.2.1 The Congress of Vienna................................................... 493

16.2.2 The Holy Alliance or the Return of Divine

Legitimacy........................................................................................................... 494

16.2.3 Metternich and the Counterrevolutionary Principle

of Legitimate Intervention.................................................................................... 495

16.2.4 An Exception to the Principle of Nation-State

Confrontation: The Metternich System as a Forerunner of European Integration... 495

16.2.5 The Impossibility of Restoring Absolutism...................... 496

16.3 The Liberal Alternative: A State with Limited Powers and

Controlled by an Economic Elite......................................................................... 497

16.3.1 Legal Limits on State Power: Constitutions and

Fundamental Rights.............................................................................................. 497

16.3.2 The Politicization of the Term “Nation”........................... 499

16.3.3 From Absolute Monarchy to Liberal Oligarchy:

The Era of Censitary Suffrage............................................................................... 500

16.4 The Liberal Revolution.................................................................... 502

16.4.1 Moderate Liberalism........................................................ 503

16.4.2 “Revolutionary Liberalism”............................................. 504

16.4.3 Spain, Spearheading the Liberal Revolution:

Riego’s Revolt (1820).......................................................................................... 505

16.4.4 France Comes to Lead the Liberal Revolution

(1830).................................................................................................................. 509

16.5 The Revolution of 1848 as the Key to the Spread of the

Liberal State in Europe........................................................................................ 511

16.5.1 Another Italian Liberal Revolution................................... 512

16.5.2 The Revolution of 1848 in the German Territories... 513

16.5.3 The Austrian Empire and the Revolution.......................... 515

16.5.4 Prussia vs. Austria: The Fight for German

Supremacy........................................................................................................... 516

16.5.5 Prussia Becomes a Constitutional Kingdom.................. 518

16.5.6 Relative Calm in Europe by 1850..................................... 519

16.6 The Unification of Italy................................................................... 519

16.6.1 II Risorgimento................................................................ 520

16.6.2 French Support for the Italian Cause................................ 521

16.6.3 A Democratic Integration................................................. 521

16.6.4 Garibaldi and the Annexation of the South....................... 521

16.6.5 The Kingdom of Italy Is Founded

(March 14, 1861).................................................................................................. 522

16.6.6 The “Roman Question”.................................................... 522

16.7 German Unification..................................................................... 523

16.7.1 Bismarck, Architect of Prussian Hegemony................... 524

16.7.2 The Defeat of Austria and the North German

Confederation....................................................................................................... 524

16.7.3 The Franco-Prussian War and the Second Reich... 525

16.7.4 A Top Down Integration in a Federal and Laic

State..................................................................................................................... 526

16.8 Imperial Russia as a Final Bastion of Autocracy.............................. 527

16.8.1 From Enlightened Absolutism to the Consolidation

of Autocracy........................................................................................................ 527

16.8.2 Speransky and the First Attempt to Establish the

Principle of the Rule of Law in Imperial Russia................................................... 528

16.8.3 The Revolution of 1905 and the First Russian

Constitution (1906)............................................................................................... 529

16.9 Colonialism and Confrontation: The International

Consequences of the Triumph of the Nation-State Model..................................... 530

16.9.1 The Golden Age of Colonialism....................................... 530

16.9.2 Nationalism and Confrontation: The Europe of the

“Armed Peace”..................................................................................................... 531

16.10 World War I and the Crisis of the Liberal State Model.................... 533

16.10.1 The Implosion of the Nation-State System....................... 533

16.10.2 The Assassination in Sarajevo and Europe’s

Suicide................................................................................................................ 533

16.10.3 The Dominos Fall............................................................ 535

16.10.4 An Apocalyptic Conflict.................................................. 535

16.10.5 The Constitutional Consequences of World War I:

The End of Liberalism and the Resurgence of

State Power......................................................................................................... 536

References.................................................................................................... 541

17 The Triumph of the State Over the Nation: From Totalitarianism to Interventionism.......................................................................................... 555

17.1 From Liberalism to Interventionism................................................. 557

17.2 The Triumph of Big Capitalism and the Transformation of

the Western World................................................................................................ 558

17.2.1 The Inventions That Changed the World.......................... 558

17.2.2 Demographic Expansion and the Concentration

of Urban Populations............................................................................................ 563

17.3 The Social Consequences of Economic Expansion........................... 564

17.3.1 The Middle Class and the Proletariat................................ 564

17.3.2 The Origins of “the Social Question”............................... 565

17.4 The Constitutional Consequences of the Social Question................ 567

17.4.1 From Censitary to Universal Suffrage............................. 567

17.4.2 The Questioning of the Laissez Faire Principle:

The Socialist Approach......................................................................................... 568

17.4.3 The Conservative Approach: Bismarck’s

Sozialpolitik......................................................................................................... 571

17.4.4 The Return of the Interventionist State............................. 573

17.5 The Russian Revolution and the First Triumph of

Totalitarianism..................................................................................................... 573

17.5.1 Lenin and the Soviet Revolution...................................... 574

17.5.2 International Proletarianism vs. the Capitalism

of the Liberal Nation-States................................................................................. 574

17.6 The European Oligarchies React by Defending “National

Socialism”........................................................................................................... 576

17.6.1 Perfectly Legal Dictatorships........................................... 578

17.6.2 An Adapted Legal Theory: From Ihering to

Carl Schmitt......................................................................................................... 581

17.6.3 The Expansion of Social/Legal Protection in

the Interbellum Period.......................................................................................... 583

17.6.4 The Crisis of the Liberal State Model in the

U.S.A.: The New Deal.......................................................................................... 583

17.6.5 A New Deal for Europe?.................................................. 587

17.7 The Road to War............................................................................. 592

17.7.1 The Expansion of Totalitarianism: The

Confrontation Between Communism and Fascism... 592

17.7.2 From the Spanish Civil War to World War II................ 593

17.8 The Triumph of the Welfare State Model......................................... 597

17.8.1 The Welfare State and the Rule of Law............................ 598

17.8.2 The Spread of the Welfare State After 1945.................... 601

17.8.3 The United States Stands Alone: From Roosevelt

to Obama.............................................................................................................. 602

17.9 The Transformation of the Totalitarian Model of State:

Communism After 1945....................................................................................... 603

17.9.1 The Marshall Plan and the Raising of the Iron

Curtain................................................................................................................ 604

17.9.2 The Expansion of Communism After 1945...................... 605

17.9.3 The Transformation of the Communist Model of

State: The Chinese Example................................................................................. 606

17.10 The Contemporary Transformation of the State Model in

Western Capitalist Countries: A Return to Oligarchy?........................................ 608

17.10.1 The “Thirty Glorious Years”, or the Contemporary

Way of Addressing the Social Question................................................................ 608

17.10.2 The Neoliberal Way and John Rawls’ Theory of

Justice.................................................................................................................. 609

17.10.3 Growing Inequality and Its Constitutional

Consequences....................................................................................................... 609

17.10.4 Towards a New Oligarchic Model of the State?.... 611

17.11 The End of the Nation-State Era and the Beginning of Global

Constitutional History?........................................................................................ 613

17.11.1 From the League of Nations to the United Nations... 613

17.11.2 Governments and Governance: From Authority to

Negotiation........................................................................................................... 615

References..................................................................................................... 621

Part V The End of the Nation State?

18 The Crisis of the Nation-State in the Era of European Integration...... 647

18.1 The Precedents for European Integration.......................................... 650

18.1.1 The Survival of the Universal Model................................ 650

18.1.2 “Composite Monarchies” as a Prime Example of

Unions of States in Europe.................................................................................... 652

18.1.3 Assembly-Based Integration: The Singular Case of

the Swiss Confederation....................................................................................... 657

18.1.4 Westphalia’s Peace and the Triumph of the Europe

of States............................................................................................................... 662

18.1.5 Europe Between Imperialism and Coordination:

1789 to 1914................................................................ 663

18.2 The Idea of Europe from 1918 to 1939............................................. 664

18.2.1 Europe Lies in Ruins, at the Mercy of the United

States and the Soviet Union.................................................................................. 664

18.2.2 The Resurgence of Nationalisms and Disunity in

Europe.................................................................................................................. 665

18.2.3 Some Attempts at Integration........................................... 667

18.3 European Integration During World War II..................................... 672

18.3.1 The Franco-British Union (June 1940)............................. 672

18.3.2 Hitlerian Europe.............................................................. 673

18.3.3 The “Integrationist” Idea in Anti-Hitlerian Europe... 674

18.4 European Integration During the Post-War Period

(1945-1949).......................................................................................................... 677

18.4.1 Europe in 1945............................................................... 677

18.4.2 A First, Unsuccessful Attempt at Integration: The

Congress of The Hague (1948), and the Failure to Form a Federal Europe............. 681

18.5 Step by Step Integration: The Invention of the “Community

Method” (1950)........................................................................... 684

18.5.1 The Pioneers: Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman... 684

18.5.2 The Schuman Declaration of May 9, 1950.................... 687

18.6 From the European Coal and Steel Community to the

European Economic Community (1951-1957)...................................................... 689

18.6.1 The 1951 Treaty of Paris and the Creation of the

ECSC................................................................................................................... 689

18.6.2 From the Failure of the EDC to the Treaties of Rome

(1951-1957)......................................................................................................... 690

18.7 The Extension of the Community Method to Create a

Common European Market, and the Institutionalization of European Integration (1957-1965).................................................................................................................... 691

18.7.1 The Court of Justice of the European Communities

and the European Parliament................................................................................ 691

18.7.2 The European Free Trade Association: A British

“Tantrum”............................................................................................................ 692

18.7.3 The Merging of Community Executives........................... 692

18.8 A Step Back in the Integration Process: A Return to the

Intergovernmental Method (1966-1986)................................................................ 693

18.8.1 The Rejection of Qualified Majority Voting and the Return of Unanimity: The Luxembourg

Compromise......................................................................................................... 693

18.8.2 On the Path Towards Expansion...................................... 693

18.8.3 The Democratization of the Integration Process:

An Elective European Parliament......................................................................... 694

18.9 Returning to the Community Method: From the Single

European Act to the Maastricht Treaty (1986-1992).............................................. 694

18.9.1 The Schengen Agreement................................................ 695

18.9.2 The Single European Act................................................ 695

18.10 Combining the Community and the Intergovernmental

Methods: From the Europe of Communities to the European Union (1992-2009).. 695

18.10.1 The Maastricht Treaty and the Appearance of the

Structured Integration Pillar.................................................................................. 696

18.10.2 Towards an Economic and Monetary Union:

The Euro as a Common Currency.................................... 697

18.10.3 Many New Members....................................................... 698

18.10.4 The Need to Reorganize the EU: From

Amsterdam to Lisbon........................................................................................... 698

18.11 The EU of the Twenty-First Century................................................ 699

18.11.1 The Lisbon Treaty........................................................... 699

18.11.2 A Legally Complex Integration................................... 700

18.12 A Provisional Conclusion for an Unfinished Process:

What Kind of Integration Are Europeans Looking For?.......... 702

References.................................................................................................... 711

Index................................................................................................................... 731