1st Edition
Theorising the Crises of the European Union
This book examines the relevance of integration theories for studying and analsing the crisis situations faced by the EU since 2009.
Ten years on from the start of the ‘age of crisis’, it critically analyses the impact of the multiple crises’ context on the EU polity and questions the utility of integration theories for grasping the peculiarities of the particular crisis under study. Bringing together prominent scholars in EU studies, the volume constitutes an essential reference book on integration theories. Its contribution is twofold. First, it provides a comparative overview of classical integration theories for studying and analysing current crisis situations the EU faces. Second, the book connects theories to current debates through an in-depth discussion of recent crises that hit European integration since 2009, with a particular focus on the financial crisis, Brexit, refugee crisis, illiberal tendencies in some member states, and the Coronavirus pandemic.
This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European integration, European Union politics, political theory, and, more broadly, to European studies.
1. Introduction: European integration (theories) in crisis?
Nathalie Brack and Seda Gürkan
2. Legitimacy Crisis in the European Union
Christopher Lord
3. Sovereignty Conflicts in the European Union
Nathalie Brack, Ramona Coman and Amandine Crespy
4. Cleavage Politics and European Integration
Swen Hutter and Ines Schäfer
5. The New Intergovernmentalism and the Euro Crisis: A Painful Case?
Dermot Hodson
6. Neofunctionalism in the Decade of Crises
Zoe Lefkofridi and Philippe C. Schmitter
7. Between Neo-functionalist Optimism and Post-functionalist Pessimism: Integrating politicisation into integration theory
Christian Rauh
8. Sociological Approaches to the Crisis
Sabine Saurugger
9. European Communion and Planetary Organic Crisis
Ian Manners
10. The Limits of the Europeanization Research Agenda: Decoding the reverse process in and around the EU
Seda Gürkan and Luca Tomini
11. ASEAN and the EU in Times of Crises: Critical junctures from the perspective of comparative regionalism
Uwe Wunderlich and Stefan Gänzle
12. Differentiation as a Response to Crises?
Benjamin Leruth
13. Understanding and Explaining the European Union in a Crisis Context: Concluding reflections
Seda Gürkan and Nathalie Brack
Biography
Nathalie Brack is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences and at the European Studies Institute of Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.
Seda Gürkan is Lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences and at the European Studies Institute of Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.
'An outstanding volume edited by two leading scholars of EU studies, this is one of the most sophisticated and systematic treatments of Europe’s "age of crisis"’ that I have seen. Ecumenical in its approach, the chapters test old and new theories of European integration against the crises of the last decade. The editors have done an excellent job in ensuring the coherence of the volume. The final result is far more than just the sum of its parts.'
Christopher Bickerton, University of Cambridge, UK.
'Drawing on new research, this volume highlights the strengths and weaknesses of current theories of European integration. The authors provide a comprehensive guide to our understanding of the European Union and how it has responded to the crises of the past decade. The result is a diverse, engaging, and deeply informative volume that is a valuable resource for students of European politics.'
Gary Marks, UNC-Chapel Hill, USA, and European University Institute, Italy.
