Description
Book SynopsisThe euro crisis is tearing Europe apart. But the heart of the matter is that, as the crisis unfolds, the basic rules of European democracy are being subverted or turned into their opposite, bypassing parliaments, governments and EU institutions.
Trade Review"A compelling analysis of Germany."
—The Economist
"A blistering indictment of Germany's modern-day economic domination, by one of Germany's most distinguished intellectuals."
—Daily Mail
"A brilliant and succinct analysis of the political genius of Angela Merkel."
—Charles Moore, Sunday Telegraph
"A short but punchy book by the distinguished German sociologist."
—Prospect
"A welcome tonic to reactionary discourses on the ills of Brussels."
—Times Literary Supplement
"Democracy won't be real in Europe until that kind of law has to be proposed, debated, and voted on by all concerned. Beck has moved us a small step closer to this highly desirable consummation, and to a unified political will in Europe, by getting his readers accustomed to thinking of a 'European Germany' rather than a 'German Europe'."
—Los Angeles Review of Books
"Diagnoses Europe's troubles with a realism and clarity that suggests a long and arduous road ahead."
—Financial Times
"A thought-provoking essay on the European economic crisis, recommended to all interested in this topic."
—Journal of Global Faultlines
"A brilliant analysis of Europe's shifting landscape of power."
—Joschka Fischer, Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany, 1998-2005
"An immensely incisive and encouraging book. Not only does it present an eye-opening outlook on Europe's crisis, it also offers a credible solution."
—Daniel Cohn-Bendit, MEP and co-president of the Greens/Free European Alliance Group in the European Parliament
"Ulrich Beck's German Europe is one of those rare and brilliant political tracts that offers us a new language with which to understand the present crisis so that we can shape the future."
—Mary Kaldor, Professor of Global Governance, LSE
Table of ContentsPreface vii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction: Europe: To Be or Not to Be: The Decision Facing Germany 1
1 How the Euro Crisis is both Tearing Europe Apart and Uniting It 5
How German austerity policies are dividing Europe – the governments are for it, the peoples are against 5
The achievements of the European Union 10
The blindness of economics 13
European domestic politics: the national concept of politics is outmoded 15
The EU crisis is not a debt crisis 19
2 Europe's New Power Coordinates: The Path to a German Europe 22
Europe under threat and the crisis of politics 22
The new landscape of European power 39
'Merkiavelli': hesitation as a means of coercion 45
3 A Social Contract for Europe 66
More freedom through more Europe 68
More social security through more Europe 72
More democracy through more Europe 74
The question of power: who will enforce the social contract? 79
A European spring? 82
Notes 87
