The tendency that has become manifest almost all over the world in recent years, on the one hand towards an attempt on the part of a number of States to join together and, on the other, towards more or less determined forms of "infra-national" decentralization, has been interrupted, above all in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, by the breaking up of the hegemonic federations created by the Communist Party.

The bipolar system, a consequence of the world being divided into two blocs after the Second World War, has not therefore been replaced by a multipolar system functioning as the leader of large "regional" groups, but to the birth, particularly in the former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia, via self-determination, of new sovereignties of small - or even tiny - dimension.

In the light of this new situation, many European countries are obviously worried and, following the logic of the reason of State, are sounding the alarm, claiming that the alteration of the status quo will no longer permit Europe to peacefully look after its own interests: faced with the choice between freedom and reason of State, it would, in effect, favour the latter.

THE OLD AND NEW POLITICAL SITUATION

But the problem is more complex, and must be clarified and explored with courage, according to two considerations.

On the one hand, the newly-won freedom must be greeted with great excitement and joy, after an antidemocratic situation that prevailed for years throughout which entire peoples were forced to forget their origins, their culture and their memories, in the name of an ideology that very clearly displayed its antidemocratic and dictatorial tendencies.

On the other hand, however, we must remember that true national States did not, and still do not, exist, from an historical and legal point of view, because all those with which we are familiar are the product of more or less radical modifications to frontiers which have been made during various decades, and sometimes centuries, following wars, treaties, annexes, divisions, to which we must add the effects of the migration, settlement, and cohabitation of entire populations or ethnic races, often carried out by force.

It is precisely in the name of the myth of unlimited sovereign power, that for centuries the world has witnessed increasingly more devastating wars, and massacres, that have often degenerated into ghastly acts of genocide.

Apart from these things, one also has to reflect upon the political and economic future of the sovereign states, whether they be old or new, large or small: it is impossible to uphold, in the light of the political, economic, cultural, social problems we have to face, and also those concerned with this planet's actual survival - achieving peace, defending the ecosystem, saving millions of individuals from death by starvation - a world order based on a "concert" of power, a balance of power, and action taken by the UN which has no real authority to make decisions and which, apart from anything else, should definitely include those countries which have recently acquired their freedom, but on the condition that they neither ignore nor suppress the minor ethnic groups present in their territory.

FREEDOM AND FERALISM

How then can we resolve the political and economic problems, which are now European and international problems, without sacrificing the aspirations of every individual, every citizen, who wishes to preserve his own cultural identity, comprising affects, memories and familiar habits which are part of both his family situation and also community living, so that they might be preserved on a national level?

The only possible political, historical and legal answer is federalism, according to Immanuel Kant's politico-philosophical interpretation in the "Zum Ewigen Frieden", as realized by Alexander Hamilton in the creation of the United States of America and, in Europe, by the Resistance in their taking a stand against nazi-fascism, and in the form expressed and created by Altiero Spinelli, starting with the "Ventotene Manifesto".

In the "Manifesto", which Spinelli finished writing with Ernesto Rossi in July 1941 - when the nazi-fascist troops, after having defeated the European democracies (except England, which still fought back courageously), were swiftly advancing through Russia - it is, in fact, established that sovereign states give rise to anarchy and continually more devastating wars on an international scale, which causes each of the states to justify their own existence by seeing every neighbouring state as an enemy to be defeated and a territory essential to their own security, and to consider an expansionist policy essential to augment their own well-being.

FEDERALISM - THE NEW HUMANIST MOVEMENT

The battle, therefore, has to be fought on two fronts simultaneously: we must promote the movement that is once more underway to form "regional" unions of states at a supernational level, and also accelerate the political and administrative decentralization within the states, but with due importance being given to ethnic groups. On the one hand, we must replace the system based on a balance of power between the individual states with a federal system, to be understood as the free association of a number of states within a single territory, governed by common democratic institutions, and where frontiers are no longer "sacred" or have a political value; and, on the other hand, we must dedicate ourselves to the internal restructuring of society, in which man must be the pivot on which a new Humanist movement hinges. This can only be done by applying the principles of federalism to all aspects of human life - to the political aspect, above all, and then in the economic, social and cultural areas. These principle

s are the following: pluralism, as respect for the individual presupposes that the various communities (natural, historical, voluntary) of which he is part will be protected; autonomy, which means that every community is free to organize itself, as long as its activity is not against the interests of other communities; co-ordination, which postulates adequate communication between the different decision-making levels comprising the political structure of a society; subsidiarity, which signifies that no higher community can act for a lower community, as long as the latter is capable of carrying out its functions and tasks with greater efficiency and better results than those which could possibly be achieved by the higher community; participation, in that each citizen who is aware of being part of a community might play an active role in community life.

FEDERATION NOT CONFEDERATION

All this can only be brought about by the creation of a legal federal, and not confederal, system: the latter, in fact, is similar to an alliance in which the sovereignty of the states remains intact in all areas, and they also possess the right to veto; in a Federation, on the other hand, the states delegate certain powers and functions to higher institutions, with all the other functions and powers remaining sovereign.

The system that united the Republics of the Soviet Union and those of Yugoslavia for decades, was not of a federal nature: it was not based on a free desire to associate; there was no legal or consitutional structure capable of adapting to and providing for the continually changing political and economic reality, and the supremacy of the central government was reinforced by the Communist Party, which sought to either suppress or absorb the ethnic races. It is only natural, therefore, that the peoples of the former Soviet Union and former Yugoslavia are somewhat worried when they hear the word "federation". It must also be made clear that entirely legitimate autonomy and self-government should be achieved in relation to an infinitely broader political and economic spectrum - now essential due to world interdependence - to be pursued in the same moment that political freedom is achieved, by seeking to create new and more extensive unions of the "joint property" at a "regional" level, with a vision to a future

"world" level.

The entry of new countries into the European Community presupposes the strengthening, development and democratization of its institutional bodies. In the meantime, new associations and agreements can and must be reached: possibly along the lines of the model proposed - but not realized - by the US with its Marshall Plan, which provided for direct aid conceded globally rather than to single countries, in order to favour an autonomous and voluntary union, which would be the first step towards more solid links being established for, and with a vision to, future "regional" unions of a supernational character.

BUILDING A UNITED STATES OF THE WORLD TOGETHER

The economic problem, even though of vital importance, is not the prime motivation for the creation of supernational structures, nor is it their principal goal. It did not have this function in the spirit and action taken by the authors of the "Ventotene Manifesto", and neither does it have this function in the spirit and action taken by the RP, which has made federalism in general, and European federalism in particular, one of its goals: the realization of a United States of Europe today , and a United States of the World tomorrow, means being political leaders and creating our own destiny rather than submitting to it.

The immensity of this task, which should lead us to a federal world government, makes each one of us feel not only anxious but also very alone: however, the feeling of helplessness evoked in us by problems over which we have no control and that are, in effect,, decided by others, can be overcome and transformed into a victory if there are tens, hundreds, and thousands of other citizens like us who, in tens, hundreds, and thousands of cities throughout the world, have the desire to band together and build the New Party, a transnational, nonviolent, democratic and cross-party political force, a political instrument for all the federalist movements, to create the United States of the World.