Under the name State of Europe we are currently conceptualizing a campaign to tackle the lack of phantasy and utopism as well as the morally unbearable realities of present-day European politics. The State of Europe is an attempt to transcent the present state of Europe.
The plan is to found a state. The first rule of this state will be that anyone can become a citizen, without any preconditions. The state will not have a territory, because really, who needs physical soil in times of virtual reality? Apart from this, the constitution of the State of Europe consists only of the 18 articles of the European Convention on Human Rights. This way, “Europe” will be reduced to the ideals and values that are indeed good about it.
The idea of this campaign is to loosen some screws within current concepts of Europe and of the nation state. Is the understanding of the state as an entity with a territory and border fences and walls a necessary one? Should citizenship be defined by soil and blood or by civic rights and duties? Should “Europe” represent the idea of fundamental human rights and democracy or an aging continent desperately trying to fight off the future?
We feel that fundamental questions like these are too rarely discussed or even thought about. The State of Europe will be an agora to do this, as well as a utopian trial balloon already setting in motion some of the ideas we are playing around with.
How will this work concretely? The State will initially be a virtual entity – that is (to put it in a more prosaic fashion), a website and a Facebook page. These will operate, first of all, as a platform for irresponsible, anarchic cavorting – the State of Europe will be fun, it will be a joke, but with a serious twist at its heart. The State can then be used as a site of more in-depth discussion and also as a transnational network that binds together local initiatives and scattered individuals.
These ideas are far from finalized. Above all, at this stage we need your help. We need your ideas, your networks, your competence and your commitment. The State of Europe will be a European and international endeavour, and therefore we need people from all over Europe and all over the world who want to take part in it.
Please get into contact with us, send us your thoughts and questions – and become a citizen! The email is europe@unserezeit.eu.
See also the State of Europe’s Wikipedia page.