Postdoctoral Lecturer and Researcher in Political Theory, University of Bonn; John F. Kennedy Memorial Fellow 2016-2017, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University; Visiting Scholar 2016-2017, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
This paper will compare different options for theorizing the relationship between concepts of empire and federation. Should federation and empire be understood as compatible, even complementary, or as competing frameworks? The paper defends an approach that embraces systematic tensions, overlaps, and grey areas between the two concepts and is therefore particularly useful in describing recent large-scale orders such as the E.U.