How is it possible that certain views are suffocated by what likes to define itself as a democratic state?
Antonello Nasone, Coppieters, presents “Political Figures for the Europe of the Future”, arguing for a new European architecture.
Coppieters Foundation and the Istituto Camillo Bellieni presented the publication Political Figures for the Europe of the Future in Sassari, Sardinia, to discuss the relevance of federalist and autonomist theory for Today’s Europe.
On 15 September 2026, the University Library in Sassari hosted the book presentation. The publication explores the ideas and political legacies of eight European thinkers: Camillo Bellieni, Émile Chanoux, Marianna Bussalai, Denis de Rougemont, Alfonso Castelao, Edmond Simeoni, Antonio Simon Mossa and Maurits Coppieters.
Through their different perspectives and historical experiences, the book reflects on federalism, self-determination and cultural diversity, and on how these ideas can contribute to a more democratic and decentralised Europe.
Speaking about the value of remembering these figures, Nasone explained that the volume was conceived as a response to the moment Europe is living through:
“This volume revisits twentieth-century politicians, thinkers and writers who, perhaps in a way that has not been recognised, had the gift of foresight towards the defining moments of their time. It is a theoretical contribution to political thinking in an era in which Europe itself is living through an epochal crisis”
He pointed out that the thinkers featured in the book “Bellieni, Simon Mossa, Simeoni, Castelao, Denis de Rougemont and Chanoux are figures who exercised a force of thought that has often gone unrecognised because the architecture of the states they lived in did not allow them full political freedom to act.”
During his speech, Nasone underlined the defining question behind the book: Why nationalist, autonomist and federalist movements, from Sardism to Welsh, Scottish, Corsican and Flemish nationalism, arose in the aftermath of the First World War?
Asked what message remains from these figures, Nasone described the book as a precious contribution that can awaken consciences, and linked it to the debate on Europe’s direction: “On the future of Europe, a fundamental shift is happeing at this time.”
“The writings of these thinkers, these politicians, these poets, can be a chance that could ultimately lead to a reconfiguration of the European continent, certainly in a form that is not that of the United States of Europe or of the current European Union.”
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This event is a joint initiative of Coppieters Foundation and Istituto di studi e ricerche Camillo Bellieni.
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Coppieters foundation is financially supported by the European Parliament. The European Parliament is not liable for the content of the event nor for the opinions of the speakers.
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