Rethinking Europe's Future

A truly distinguished book. Major. Important. Seminal. There is plenty in here for everyone to learn about the deeper meaning of what happened in recent European history and how it relates to what we ought to do. David Calleo's book is different in focus and scope from most books offering a 'big picture' sweep of history while still offering the 'sweep.' -- Brewster Denny, University of Washington Rethinking Europe's Future is a magisterial sweep through the history of the last century, drawing together a host of lines of inquiry on the dynamics of European integration. It represents a unique contribution to the literature on European politics and international relations. The author is one of the few people in the world qualified to present a comprehensive and synthetic treatment of the historical political economy of modern Europe, and the book reflects this. -- Kathleen McNamara, author of "The Currency of Ideas: Monetary Politics in the European Union"

Discusses the theories for managing the state system, the transition from autocratic states to communitarian nation states, the strength of nation states, and their relationship with capitalism. This book focuses on the Cold War's legacies for Europe. It presents models of a new Europe that propose different relationships with the U.S. and Russia.Rethinking Europe's Future is a major reevaluation of Europe's prospects as it enters the twenty-first century. David Calleo has written a book worthy of the complexity and grandeur of the challenges Europe now faces. Summoning the insights of history, political economy, and philosophy, he explains why Europe was for a long time the world's greatest problem and how the Cold War's bipolar partition brought stability of a sort. Without the Cold War, Europe risks revisiting its more traditional history. With so many contingent factors--in particular Russia and Europe's Muslim neighbors--no one, Calleo believes, can pretend to predict the future with assurance. Calleo's book ponders how to think about this future. The book begins by considering the rival "lessons" and trends that emerge from Europe's deeper past. It goes on to discuss the theories for managing the traditional state system, the transition from autocratic states to communitarian nation states, the enduring strength of nation states, and their uneasy relationship with capitalism. Calleo next focuses on the Cold War's dynamic legacies for Europe--an Atlantic Alliance, a European Union, and a global economy. These three systems now compete to define the future. The book's third and major section examines how Europe has tried to meet the present challenges of Russian weakness and German reunification. Succeeding chapters focus on Maastricht and the Euro, on the impact of globalization on Europeanization, and on the EU's unfinished business--expanding into "Pan Europe," adapting a hybrid constitution, and creating a new security system. Calleo presents three models of a new Europe--each proposing a different relationship with the U.S. and Russia. A final chapter probes how a strong European Union might affect the world and the prospects for American hegemony. This is a beautifully written book that offers rich insight into a critical moment in our history, whose outcome will shape the world long after our time.