Free World

Free World: Why a Crisis of the West Reveals the Opportunity of Our Time by Timothy Garton Ash. Random House, paper, 2004, 304 pages.

“Britain may not be divided physically, but it lives culturally, economically and socially in a constant tension between Europe and America. And it's divided politically between a Right which argues that our place is with America, not Europe, and a Left which claims the opposite. This is today's English civil war. Both sides tell us we must choose between Europe and America. But how can we choose, when Britain has two faces pointing in opposite directions? Garton Ash argues that the beginning of national wisdom is to accept that this is who we are, that Britain faces both ways. What follows is, he says, a liberation, and a challenge. In this stimulating new book, Garton Ash examines how this has happened, and argues that Britain should resist choosing between Europe and America, but embrace a new role in harmony with both, and that instead of destructively bickering as we have for decades, we should be concentrating on grander and more durable aspirations for political freedom.” Ash is a British scholar and journalist. (From publisher's description.)

Rethinking Europe's Future

David P. Calleo, Richard C. Leone. Rethinking Europe's Future, Princeton University Press, 2001. 424 pages.

Undaunted by the challenge of speculating about future developments, David Calleo does a masterful job of weaving the perspectives of history, economics, philosophy, and political science into a rich tapestry of forthright questions about Europe's future and persuasive speculation about answers and possibilities. Rethinking Europe's Future is a major reevaluation of Europe's prospects as it enters the twenty-first century. 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. Calleo is Dean Acheson Professor and Director of European Studies at the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University, and the keynote speaker for the 2007 Camden Conference. (From publisher.)

Design for a New Europe

John Gillingham. Design for a New Europe, Cambridge University Press, May 2006, paper, 298 pages.

“How did the process of European integration break down; how can it be repaired? In European Integration, 1950-2003, John Gillingham reviewed the history of the European project and predicted the rejection of the European constitution. The four chapters of this book subject today's dysfunctional European Union to critical scrutiny in an attempt to show how it is stunting economic growth, sapping the vitality of national governments, and undermining competitiveness. It explains how the attempt to revive the EU by turning it into a champion of research and development will backfire and demonstrates how Europe's great experiment in political and economic union can succeed only if the wave of liberal reform now under way in the historically downtrodden east is allowed to sweep away the prosperous and complacent west.” Gillingham is Professor of History at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. (Edited from publisher’s description.)

Chaos and Violence

Stanley Hoffmann. Chaos and Violence: What Globalization, Failed States, and Terrorism Mean for U.S. Foreign Policy, Rowman & Littlefield, November 2006, 224 pages.

Editor's Note: This is a collection of 19 articles by Hoffman, including two titled, "U.S.-European Relationships" and “European Sisyphus.” Also, his opening chapters set the stage for understanding the issues Europe faces in a changing global environment. Note his book will be available in late November, 2006.

“Renowned for his compassionate and balanced thinking on international affairs, Stanley Hoffmann reflects here on the proper place of the United States in a world it has defined almost exclusively by 9/11, the war on terrorism, and the invasion of Iraq. A true global citizen, Hoffmann's analysis is uniquely informed by his place as a public intellectual with one foot in Europe, the other in America. In this collection of essays, many previously unpublished, he considers the ethics of intervention, the morality of human rights, how to repair our relationship with Europe, and the pitfalls of American unilateralism.” (From publisher's description.)

Postwar

Tony Judt. Postwar : A History of Europe Since 1945, Penguin Press, 2005. Nearly 1,000 pages.

Editor's Note: Judt’s book is especially welcomed by serious history buffs, but should also appeal to those of us who remember the "Old Europe" of earlier years and wonder how it has changed and how it must continue to change to meet the challenges of the "New World," particularly as globalization continues apace and as Eastern Europe countries become more of what we now call "Europe."

“This is the best history we have of Europe in the postwar period and not likely to be surpassed for many years. Judt, director of New York University's Remarque Institute, is an academic historian of repute and, more recently, a keen observer of European affairs whose powerfully written articles have appeared in the New York Times, the New York Review of Books and elsewhere. Here he combines deep knowledge with a sharply honed style and an eye for the expressive detail. Postwar is a hefty volume, and there are places where the details might overwhelm some readers. But the reward is always there: after pages on cabinet shuffles in some small country, or endless diplomatic negotiations concerning the fate of Germany or moves toward the European Union, the reader is snapped back to attention by insightful analysis and excellent writing. Judt shows that the dire human and economic costs of WWII shadowed Europe for a very long time afterward. Europeans and Americans recall the economic miracle, but it didn't really transform people's lives until the late 1950s, when a new, more individualized, consumer-oriented society began to appear in the West. (From Publishers Weekly. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Islamic Challenge

Jytte Klausen. The Islamic Challenge : Politics and Religion in Western Europe. Oxford University Press, 2006, 240 pages.

“Who are Europe's Muslim leaders? How do they view Islamic integration into European society and polities? Based on 300 interviews with Muslim leaders, this innovative book tackles big questions to reveal what Muslim leaders in Europe really want and the myriad ways in which Islam can become a European religion

“The voices in this book belong to parliamentarians, city councillors, doctors and engineers, a few professors, lawyers and social workers, owners of small businesses, translators, and community activists. They are also all Muslims, who have decided to become engaged in political and civic organizations. And for that reason, they constantly have to explain themselves, mostly in order to say who they are not. They are not fundamentalists, not terrorists, and most do not support the introduction of Islamic religious law in Europe - especially not its application to Christians. This book is about who these people are, and what they want.” Klausen is from the Center for European Studies, Brandeis University, Boston. (From publisher's description and Amazon.com.)

European Union and World Politics

Andrew Moravcsik. European Union and World Politics. Routledge, 2006, paper, 256 pages.

The European Union is a unique political experiment that challenges many of the prevailing assumptions about world politics. This new book examines the EU’s key role in global politics and how the continued success of European integration means that scholars may have to rethink international relations theory.

Moravcsik addresses many of the key issues facing the EU: some are the theories of European integration. legitimacy in the EU, European integration and national policies, human rights and international law, and transatlantic relations. (Edited from publisher's description.)

Cousins and Strangers

Chris Patten. Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain, and Europe in a New Century. Times Books, 2006, 320 pages.

“Patten served as a member of Parliament and chairman of the Conservative Party, and he was the last British governor of Hong Kong. He also served as the European Commissioner for External relations from 1999 to 2004.

“He views the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war as a watershed that has fundamentally altered transatlantic relations. His politics would probably define him as moderately conservative in American terms, and he displays great affection for the American people and their institutions. He mercilessly skewers America bashers from France and Britain as "political fatheads" who mask arrogant condescension behind a veneer of superior morality. But Patten does not minimize what he regards as a growing political and cultural divide between the U.S. and her supposed allies that the persistence of the cold war papered over.” (By Jay Freeman. Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.)