The Supranational Dimension in Max Weber’s Vision of Politics

Abstract

Max Weber analysed politics from the perspective of Chancen for actors, and he never separated world politics from domestic politics. The ‘Westphalian balance’ between great European powers shaped Weber’s views on the international polity. However, he also regarded Western individualism, human rights, and parliamentary democracy as necessary qualities to possess in order to be recognised as a great power. This vision provided the basis for his wartime critique of the expansionist tendencies of in German foreign policy and for his demand for the parliamentarisation of German politics. After the end of WWI, Weber used Woodrow Wilson’s idea of the League of Nations as the basis for a proposal on new treaty legislation on war guilt. By doing so, he also identified chances for introducing supranational elements to world politics. The final part of the article applies a Weberian political imagination to the interpretation of the United Nations and the European Union as supranational institutions.