ABSTRACT
The shock registered within European opinion over the costs and consequences of the immensely destructive war of 1939-45 had a profound impact on the general perception of regional politics. At the very least a pervasive sense of uncertainty was evident about conventional political arrangements. A widespread feeling was expressed that there should be some constraints on the unfettered pursuit of national interests. Some political movements went further and canvassed a wholesale replacement of Europe’s statecentric system by new regional arrangements. The nation state survived these persistent challenges and, suitably modified, re-emerged as the principal agency of diplomacy and governance, as well as the primary focus of popular allegiance in postwar Western Europe. A half century or so later, the nation state is still with us. Its future is still at the centre of an animated debate among scholars and practitioners. A residual sense of national identity remains the principal obstacle to a pervasive European identity.
