Bringing together an international group of philosophers as well as political and IR international relations theorists, this collection mobilizes the insights of modern philosophy and the lessons of contemporary politics to develop a new concept of universalism that would be adequate to European politics in the context of globalization and multiculturalism. Europe is reinterpreted as a 'singular universal',– not a model that could be a source of identification, but rather a hypothetical, regulative, or virtual principle that consists in perpetual self-transgression and openness towards the other. The chapters in this volume elaborate this principle by critically re-engaging with the history of European universalism and addressing its contemporary functioning in the politics of European integration and European foreign policy. As a study in the conceptual foundations of contemporary European politics, this book will be of interest to a wide readership interested in global politics and international relations.
