State individualisation had never occurred until very recently, with the emergence of the EU

One needs only to think briefly about the 3,000, or fewer, years of human recorded history before the reality of this finding hits. State individualisation, in the way that states individualise ‘their’ citizens, had never occurred until very recently, with the emergence of the EU. The empires of the past, be they Iron Age ones, Imperial Rome or even the empires of the nineteenth century, never looked or asked for the recognition of anybody. Confident in their power and might, these empires self-identified, decided on their own name and insignia, and imposed these on others. Nor was this only the case for imperial powers: city-states from Athens to Florence did not ask for recognition from others either—even when they were troubled by neighbouring empires. They too chose a name for themselves and imposed it on other states, even when they were conquered.

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