Embattled Europe: A Progressive Alternative

by Konrad H. Jarausch

Overview

A bracing corrective to predictions of the European Union’s decline, by a leading historian of modern Europe

Is the European Union in decline? Recent history, from the debt and migration crises to Brexit, has led many observers to argue that the EU’s best days are behind it. Over the past decade, right-wing populists have come to power in Poland, Hungary, and beyond—many of them winning elections using strident anti-EU rhetoric. At the same time, Russia poses a continuing military threat, and the rise of Asia has challenged the EU's economic power. But in Embattled Europe, renowned European historian Konrad Jarausch counters the prevailing pessimistic narrative of European obsolescence with a rousing yet realistic defense of the continent—one grounded in a fresh account of its post–1989 history and an intimate understanding of its twentieth-century horrors.

An engaging narrative and probing analysis, Embattled Europe tells the story of how the EU emerged as a model of democratic governance and balanced economic growth, adapting to changing times while retaining its value system. The book describes the EU’s admirable approach to the environment, social welfare, immigration, and global competitiveness. And it presents underappreciated European success stories—including Denmark’s transition to a green economy, Sweden’s restructuring of its welfare state, and Poland’s economic miracle.

Embattled Europe makes a powerful case that Europe—with its peaceful foreign policy, social welfare solidarity, and environmental protection—offers the best progressive alternative to the military adventurism and rampant inequality of plutocratic capitalism and right-wing authoritarianism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691225531
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	10/29/2024
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Konrad H. Jarausch is the Lurcy Professor of European Civilization at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His many books include Out of Ashes: A New History of Europe in the Twentieth Century and Broken Lives: How Ordinary Germans Experienced the 20th Century (both Princeton). He lives in Chapel Hill and Berlin.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations vii

Introduction: The European Puzzle 1

Part I Promising Future 11

1 Peaceful Revolution 13

2 Post-Communist Transformation 34

3 European Integration 54

Part II Avalanche of Crises 77

4 Sovereign Debt Debacle 79

5 Migration Wave 100

6 Brexit Self-Destruction 122

Part III Continuing Strengths 143

7 Economic Competitiveness 145

8 Restructured Welfare State 165

9 Protected Environment 185

Part IV Common Challenges 205

10 Defense Disagreements 207

11 Populist Backlash 230

12 Global Role 250

Conclusion: A Progressive Alternative 271

Acknowledgments 283

Notes 285

Selected Bibliography 321

Index 325

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Embattled Europe is a spirited and insightful defense of the European model that shows why it offers a progressive alternative for liberal democracies—and why America can learn from the successes and failures of the European Union and individual European countries since 1989.”—Mary Nolan, author of The Transatlantic Century: Europe and America, 1890–2010

“Jarausch, a leading expert on the subject, offers a thought-provoking and original interpretation of all the key dimensions that constitute the complex history of today’s Europe.”—Kiran Klaus Patel, author of Project Europe: A History

“Only Konrad Jarausch can explain Europe and her recent history with such expertise, balance, and understanding of both sides of the North Atlantic. Capturing the enormous diversity of the continent in a fascinating way, Jarausch offers a realistic picture of Europe’s achievements and the present challenges to the European model.”—Hartmut Kaelble, author of A Social History of Europe, 1945–2000

Editorial Reviews

"Provocative. . . . A useful corrective to the pervasive and misleading Europe-bashing that often occupies the global press."—-Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs

From the Publisher