Requiem for the European Dream? Robert Menasse and the Idea of Europe

This essay examines Robert Menasse’s conception of Europe through his political essay Der Europäische Landbote (2013) and his novel Die Hauptstadt (2017). It reconstructs Menasse’s critique of the nation-state and his vision of the European Union as a post-national political project rooted in the historical overcoming of nationalism. Particular attention is paid to the tension between democratic legitimacy and supranational governance. While Menasse advocates a post-national form of democracy, his emphasis on European institutions and technocratic expertise risks reducing citizens to passive recipients of governance. The essay argues that this contradiction reveals a form of “soft Bonapartism,” in which democratic procedures persist while effective political participation is weakened. Menasse’s work thus emerges as both a compelling plea for European integration and a critical case for reflecting on the unresolved relationship between supranationalism, technocracy, and democratic sovereignty.