It is hard to find another two concepts which would be more significant in the European integration discourse than «democracy» and «solidarity» and at the same time more ambiguous in the political practice of integration. Currently European integration discourse is being organized around the concept of democracy. Analyzing European integration discourse the author argues that the situation is quite paradoxical because in order to secure democracy in the EU, European integration discourse must be organized not around the concept of democracy but around the concept of solidarity. The book attempts to show in more details the context of the clash of these fundamental values which serve also as the leading political principles of European integration. Therefore several further concepts and problems have been discussed such as the issue of identity, the concept of citizenship and the problem of nationalism. Since the theoretical framework of the analysis have been built around the idea of discourse the inevitable consequence was to look at some aspects of communication and the links between conceptual and normative development of the European integration.

Józef Ni¿nik, born in 1943, studied philosophy and sociology at the University of Warsaw. He is Professor in the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. He is author of several books published in Polish and English on philosophy of social sciences, sociology of knowledge and European integration.

Contents: Organizing units of the European integration discourse ¿ The clash of democracy and solidarity ¿ Dilemmas of national and European identity ¿ Citizenship in the supranational context ¿ Compliance to European norms ¿ The making of a supranational order.