A Union of Diversity

Peter A. Kraus is Chair of Ethnic Relations at the University of Helsinki and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Humboldt University, Berlin.

• Preface; 1. Introduction: the dynamics of European integration; 2. The European Union's democratic deficit and the search for a European demos; 3. The identity of a multinational polity; 4. Language and politics: a challenge for Europe; 5. The language question in the institutional complex of the European Union; 6. Political communication in the transnational civil society; 7. Recognition, self-determination and integration in a union of diversity.

'The European Union is a polity whose citizens speak many different languages, but this fact is conveniently ignored in most debates about European integration. Peter Kraus gives a comprehensive account why linguistic diversity is both a challenge and an opportunity for building a democratic Europe. His book makes a powerful argument against a laissez-faire approach and for a politics of recognition of Europe's deep diversity.' Rainer Bauböck, European University Institute, Florence