EDITORIAL
Rejection vote should not end EU prospects

The rejection by France and the Netherlands of a constitution for the European Union should be viewed as a setback, but not an end, to the idea of a politically unified Europe.

In the long term, a strong European Union is the best hope for a near-term world where power will generally rest on three poles: Europe, the United States and an Asia led by Japan and China.

Long term, of course, it may develop that resource-rich Africa or populous and educated South America will take their rightful place in the global power balance.

But short term, it is the United States (today, the world's sole superpower), China and related Asia and the European Union that will lead.

It is important that no one entity become completely dominant.

Cynics have argued that the United States is the dominant world power and, as such, is entitled to "write its own history."

There may be some realpolitik to this view, but it is a dangerous one. Long-term progress depends on accommodation, diplomacy and a gut understanding that no single power bloc can ride roughshod over the others.

That's why the European Union is so important. France's rejection, particularly, of a new constitution for the EU had more to do with internal politics (primarily voter dissatisfaction with President Jacques Chirac) than it did with the idea of the European Union per se.

The EU will continue to develop, first as an economic power and later as a diplomatic one. And rightly so.

History tells us that security and peace cannot be based on a single, overriding power. It is through a balance of power, influence and economic strength that long-term stability rests.