Europe should reject Jürgen Habermas’ vision of a federal European state and instead create an enduring association between sovereign nations.

What should the ultimate aim of European integration be? Simon Glendinning writes on the argument put forward by Jürgen Habermas in favour of creating a ‘supranational democracy’ in Europe, with a common European government. Taking issue with Habermas’ interpretation of the philosopher Immanuel Kant, he argues that the creation of a supranational democracy is not only unlikely, but conceptually flawed. Rather than viewing a voluntary association of independent states as being fundamentally weak or incomplete without further integration, we should recognise that it offers the best of all worlds: preserving European diversity, while also increasing tolerance and safeguarding against war.