does anyone have a name for what Europe is?

Political patchwork?

"Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

I'm not so interested in direct federalism, but spreading loose federalism internationally has a certain appeal.

Put some visionary flesh behind that statement, and we have a winner.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

A confederacy with a democracy deficit at the confederal level, to be sure, but if there is no external military threat, I don't see the reason to up the ante and gamble on a federation.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

According to Wikipedia, the EU is a "sui generis entity".

That is, unlike anything else.

In political science, the unparalleled development of the European Union as compared to other international organizations has led to its designation as a sui generis geopolitical entity. There has been widespread debate over the legal nature of the EU given its mixture of intergovernmental and supranational elements, with the organisation thus possessing some characteristics common to confederal and federal entities.

Just like the Mediterranean Sea has originated the concept of a mediterranean sea, maybe a political entity like the European Union should be called a European Union.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith