Riff: Eunification: a Historical Perspective
Another riff today, I’m on a roll.
This time it’s on a post from 250bpm about how the process of European unification is different from Italy and Germany unification in the XIX century.
I don’t disagree with the arguments put forward, they are sound, I find it weird that there is no mention of the core argument, political will.
Because it was political will, and blood, lots of blood, that unified Germany under Prussia, and Italy under Sardinia-Piedmont.
These were conquests masquerading as unification, not (only) civil societies aspirations or historical de-jure claims.
And so if we are to keep the analogy, who is the conqueror of today’s Europe? Under which banner will long lasting National states see their end?
This is the question about European unification, since no one chooses to lose its independence, it is taken from them, always.1
Ok, not always but c’mon, maybe Scotland joining England in the 1700s? For most of history the threat (real or apparent) of force (military, political and economical) was present when states / monarchies joined others “peacefully”↩