Bulletin n. 1/2017
June 2017
INDICE
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Thiemeyer Guido
    Die „Volonté Générale“, das europäische Staatensystem und die Genese supranationaler internationaler Organisationen vom frühen 19. Jahrhundert bis in die Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts
    in Journal of European Integration History , vol. 22, n. 2 ,  2016 ,  229-248
    The article explores one long term aspect of European Integration from the early 19th to the middle of the 20th century. It was the Prussian delegate Wilhelm von Humboldt who, at the Vienna Congress in 1815, spoke of a “Volonté Générale” standing above the states in international relations. In order to cope with this “Volonté Générale” he suggested to establish a “véritable autorité centrale“ in the institutional framework of the Central Commission for Rhine Navigation. Only an institution that could act independently from the state governments would be capable to decide in the general interest of navigation and commerce on the Rhine. This argument was picked up by different diplomatic actors of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Otto von Bismarck for instance used it in the context of Danube navigation, it played a certain role in the treaty of Versailles and – last but not least – in the Schuman-Plan declaration of 1950. All in all, the article shows that the idea of supranationality existed already in the 19th century – even though under different names.
    ©2001 - 2020 - Centro Studi sul Federalismo - P. IVA 94067130016