Russia’s intervention in the Ukraine, Donald Trump’s presidency and instability in the Middle East are just a few of the factors that have brought an end to the immediate post-Cold War belief that a new international order was emerging: one where fear and uncertainty gave way to a thick normative and institutional architecture that diminished the importance of material power. This has raised questions about the instruments we use to understand order in Europe and in international relations. The chapters in this book aim to assess whether foreign policy actors in Europe understand the international system and behave as realists. They ask what drives their behaviour, how they construct material capabilities and to what extent they see material power as the means to ensure survival. They contribute to a critical assessment of realism as a way to understand both Europe’s current predicament and the contemporary international system.
This timely book considers the topical issue of the enlargement processes of the European Union and NATO. This book is an essential resource for those academics interested in the development of the European Union.
Introduction -- 1. Golden age : years of reconstruction -- 2. Thinking of Europe and beyond : Nixon and Kissinger's priorities -- 3. Special relationships : a journey to a continent in transition -- 4. Living with deficits : economic predicaments -- 5. Downward spiral : monetary turmoil and the end of the old order -- 6 Turning point : the United States and the end of "benign hegemony" -- Conclusion.
A vision of a European future of peace and stability despite the present gloom The world appears to be at another major turning point. Tensions between the United States and China threaten a resumption of great power conflict. Global institutions are being tested as never before, and hard-edged nationalism has resurfaced as a major force in both democracies and authoritarian states. From the European perspective, the United States appears to be abdicating its global leadership role. Meanwhile, Moscow and Beijing eagerly exploit every opportunity to pit European partners against one another. But a pivot point also offers the continent an opportunity to grow stronger. In World in Danger, Wolfgang Ischinger, Germany's most prominent diplomat, offers a vision of a European future of peace and stability. Ischinger examines the root causes of the current conflicts and suggests how Europe can successfully address the most urgent challenges facing the continent. The European Union, he suggests, is poised to become a more powerful actor on the world stage, able to shape global politics while defending the interests of its 500 million citizens. This important book offers a practical vision of a Europe fully capable of navigating these turbulent times.
Europe’s Uncertain Path is an introduction to Europe’s turbulent history from 1814 to 1914. It presents a clear narrative of the major political events, set against the backdrop of social, economic, and cultural change. An introduction to Europe’s turbulent history from 1814 to 1914 Provides students with a solid grounding in the main political events and social changes of the period Explains the causes and outcomes of major events: the effect of the emergence of mass politics; the evolution of political ideologies; and the link between foreign and domestic policy Offers balanced coverage of Eastern, Western, and Central Europe Illustrations, maps, and figures enhance student understanding
The fascinating history of Eastern Europe includes highs of soaring cultural achievement and lows of almost unimaginable repression. But we in the West don't know much about Eastern Europe or its history--this book helps us see why. We got interested when the region became a threat during the Cold War, but what we learned focused on the Communist period after World War II--not Eastern Europe itself or its deep history, a history that continues to live in the hearts of its peoples. James Payton offers an accessible treatment of the history of the region, an opportunity to learn about Eastern Europeans as they are. He overviews that story from pre-history to the present, examining eleven turning points that profoundly shaped Eastern European history. His treatment considers the backgrounds to the turning points, the events, and the long-lasting impacts they had for the various Eastern European nations. This helps us understand how Eastern Europeans themselves see their history--the "long haul" over the centuries, with the influence and impact of events of the sometimes-distant past shaping how they see themselves, their neighbors, and their place in the world.
Throughout Eastern Europe, the unexpected and irrevocable fall of communism that began in the late 1980s presented enormous challenges in the spheres of politics and society, as well as at the level of individual experience. Excitement, uncertainty, and fear predicated the shaping of a new order, the outcome of which was anything but predetermined. Recent studies have focused on the ambivalent impact of capitalism. Yet, at the time, parliamentary democracy had equally few traditions to return to, and membership in the European Union was a distant dream at best. Nowadays, as new threats arise, Europe’s current political crises prompt us to reconsider how liberal democracy in Eastern Europe came about in the first place. This book undertakes an analysis of the year 1990 in several countries throughout Europe to consider the role of uncertainty and change in shaping political nations.
What is it like to be young in a Europe faced with conflict and austerity? Volume 3 of the series Perspectives on youth focuses on “healthy Europe”, not just in the narrow sense, but in the broader sense of what it is like to be young in a Europe faced with conflict and austerity, and what it feels like to be young as transitions become ever more challenging. The assumption when planning this issue was that health in this broader sense remains a controversial area within youth policy, where the points of departure of policy makers, on the one hand, and young people themselves on the other are often dramatically different; in fact, young people tend to interpret the dominating discourse as limiting, patronising, maybe even offensive. The question of health brings the old tensions between protection and participation as well as agency and structure to the forefront. Not all questions are addressed in detail but many are touched upon. It is, intentionally, an eclectic mix of contributions, to provide a diversity of argumentation and to promote reflection and debate. As has been the intention of Perspectives on youth throughout, we have sought to solicit and elicit the views of academics, policy makers and practitioners, presenting theoretical, empirical and hypothetical assertions and analysis. Perspectives on youth is published by the partnership between the European Union and the Council of Europe in the field of youth in co-operation with, and with support from, four countries: Belgium, Finland, France and Germany. Its purpose is to keep the dialogue on key problems of child and youth policies on a solid foundation in terms of content, expertise and politics. The series aims to act as a forum for information, discussion, reflection and dialogue on European developments and trends in the field of youth policy, youth research and youth work while promoting a policy and youth work practice that is based on knowledge and participatory principles. The editorial team of this volume is composed of 12 members representing the supporting countries, the Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR), the co-ordinator of the youth policy reviews of the Council of Europe, the EU-Council of Europe youth partnership and the co‐ordinator of the editorial team.
For many observers, the European Union is mired in a deep crisis. Between sluggish growth; political turmoil following a decade of austerity politics; Brexit; and the rise of Asian influence, the EU is seen as a declining power on the world stage. Columbia Law professor Anu Bradford argues the opposite in her important new book The Brussels Effect: the EU remains an influential superpower that shapes the world in its image. By promulgating regulations that shape the international business environment, elevating standards worldwide, and leading to a notable Europeanization of many important aspects of global commerce, the EU has managed to shape policy in areas such as data privacy, consumer health and safety, environmental protection, antitrust, and online hate speech. And in contrast to how superpowers wield their global influence, the Brussels Effect - a phrase first coined by Bradford in 2012- absolves the EU from playing a direct role in imposing standards, as market forces alone are often sufficient as multinational companies voluntarily extend the EU rule to govern their global operations. The Brussels Effect shows how the EU has acquired such power, why multinational companies use EU standards as global standards, and why the EU's role as the world's regulator is likely to outlive its gradual economic decline, extending the EU's influence long into the future.
