European Stories

European Stories is an ambitious, erudite and eloquent contribution to an emerging field of scholarly inquiry and intellectual debate that seeks to bridge the polyphony of European narratives in a comparative perspective and across academic disciplines. Such a sweeping survey deserves congratulations for their initiators because they think big, outside the box and are aiming high. Jens Bastian, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies This is a brilliant book. It's highly instructive chapters on how issues of European unification have been discussed from different aspects in different countries reveal in each case the strong dependence on national contexts -and the lack of mutual concern and coordination we observe in Europe even among intellectuals. Jurgen Habermas Europe has completed the circle of its 'historical project', gradually healing the wounds and making amends for the errors of its past: Nazism and the Second World War, dictatorships in its Southern countries, Communist control of the East. Europe's great challenge now is to piece together a new identity, to arrive at a shared idea of Europe that is still missing. The volume edited by Justine Lacroix and Kalypso Nicolaidis is an invaluable contribution to moving this process forward. I urge Europeans across the continent to read and debate it. Pierre Rosanvallon, College de France The European Union is one of the most mind-boggling political phenomena of our times. All over Europe, public intellectuals have slowly been rising to the challenge of assessing its significance and arguing about its future. But most of the time in their own impenetrable national bubbles. Thanks to an impressive pan-European team, this unusual volume enables us to peep through the opaque walls that separate national debates. Whether you are looking for similarities or for differences, be prepared for many suprises Philippe Van Parijs, Universite Catholique de Louvain and Harvard University This is a remarkable attempt to capture the full polyphony, not to say cacophony, of different national, sub-national and supra-national versions of the European story, and then to find some underlying tune. It should be essential reading for anyone interested in the intellectual and political future of the European project. Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford The trajectory of European integration is being decided not in Brussels but in 27 diverse nation-states. Their citizens view Europe in strikingly different ways. Brilliantly combining story-telling and social science, European Stories offers a path-breaking analysis of these disparate national visions. Indispensible for anyone who cares about Europe's future. Andrew Moravcsik, Director, EU Program, Princeton University