The Future of Europe

Book excerpt: The European Union seems to have rescued its single currency, but it has not yet put an end to the crisis. In this major new book, a group of fifteen international philosophers, economists, political scientists, sociologists, and legal experts compare the economic, political, constitutional, social, and cultural interpretations of the European crisis. They describe the challenges the EU faces in relation to legitimacy and democracy and address head-on the uncertainty over the future of Europe. The book considers different possible scenarios—from the Union's dissolution, with or without the continuation of the integration process, to its reinforcement through the building of a political union addressing the challenges of legitimacy, democracy and justice. Such a strengthened union could mark a new stage for democracy—not the democracy of ancient cities and modern states, but one convenient to the complex entities, neither national nor supra-national, of which the European Union, despite the crisis, is still the best modern example.