Embattled Europe

- Blurb -

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 under appreciated 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. ' 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