Europe: A Nietzschen Perspective PDF
Preview Europe: A Nietzschen Perspective
Europe What does it mean to be European? Should a common European identity be forged in the twenty-first century? In this innovative volume, Stefan Elbe addresses these important questions through his exploration of the ‘good Europeans’, an idea outlined by one of the most enigmatic and stimulating thinkers of the modern age – Friedrich Nietzsche. Despite the growing attention that Nietzsche has received in scholarly circles over the past decade, his thinking about modern nationalism and the idea of Europe remains remarkably unexplored. Elbe, however, shows how Nietzsche explicitly cast the question of Europe within the larger cultural context of secularisation and the death of God. Elbe is thus able to demonstrate the continued relevance of Nietzsche’s investigation of European nihilism for the debate on the European idea. The book concludes by exploring Nietzsche’s own idea of what it would mean to be a ‘good European’ within the context of a modern and secular culture. This book is the first systematic study of Nietzsche’s European thought, and provides a rare philosophical approach to the idea of ‘Europe’. Stefan Elbe lectures in International Relations at the University of Warwick. His articles have appeared in The Journal of Political Ideologies, Millennium: Journal of International Studiesand International Security. Routledge Advances in European Politics 1 Russian Messianism Third Rome, revolution, Communism and after Peter J.S. Duncan 2 European Integration and the Postmodern Condition Governance, democracy, identity Peter van Ham 3 Nationalism in Italian Politics The stories of the North League, 1980–2000 Damian Tambini 4 International Intervention in the Balkans A critical evaluation Edited by Peter Siani-Davies and Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers 5 Widening the European Union The politics of institutional change and reform Edited by Bernard Steunenberg 6 Institutional Challenges in the European Union Edited by Madeleine Hosli, Adrian van Deemen and Mika Widgrén 7 Europe Unbound Enlarging and reshaping the boundaries of the European Union Edited by Jan Zielonka 8 Ethnic Cleansing in the Balkans Nationalism and the destruction of tradition Cathie Carmichael 9 Democracy and Enlargement in Post-Communist Europe The democratisation of the general public in fifteen Central and Eastern European countries, 1991–1998 Christian W. Haerpfer 10 Private Sector Involvement in the Euro The power of ideas Stefan Collignon and Daniela Schwarzer 11 Europe A Nietzschean perspective Stefan Elbe 12 Europe, Globalisation and Sustainable Development Edited by Brian Baxter, John Barry and Richard Dunphy 13 European Union Council Presidencies A comparative analysis Edited by Ole Elgström 14 European Governance and Supranational Institutions Making states comply Jonas Tallberg 15 European Union, NATO and Russia Martin Smith and Graham Timmins Europe A Nietzschean perspective Stefan Elbe First published 2003 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. © 2003 Stefan Elbe All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by an electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Elbe, Stefan, 1975– Europe: a Nietzschean perspective/Stefan Elbe. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. European Union. 2. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844–1900 – Views on Europe. I. Title. JN30 .E358 2003 306´.094–dc21 2002155516 ISBN 0-203-42655-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-43902-3 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–36975–4 (hardcover) To my family – old and new Contents Preface xi Acknowledgements xiii 1 Europe 1 2 God or nothingness? 17 3 Labyrinths of the future 41 4 Europe wants to become one 65 5 We good Europeans 89 6 Free thoughts 109 Notes 123 Select bibliography 147 Index 163
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