From the German past to the European Union’s future. 'Constitutional Patriotism' and the transnational making of a European political concept (1988-2008)

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is still in the making, and so are the concepts used to think and talk about it. They sometimes appear as randomly mixing various political and intellectual traditions, forming an incoherent discourse. The purpose of this article is to analyze the processes by which certain concepts succeed or fail to become part of this discourse. It focuses on the career of the concept of constitutional patriotism, made famous by the German sociologist and philosopher Jürgen Habermas. It will first insist on the difference in French and German contexts of national politicizations of the concept. Then, its introduction in the European arena will be examined. The article will challenge the view of a linear Europeanization of political concepts. Rather, the career of constitutional patriotism will appear as a complex process of co-production in which a transnational thought collective, mixing up scholars and politicians, has played the main part.