Overview

A impassioned defense of the European Union and a concise analysis of its present challenges and future In this provocative book, renowned public intellectual Ivan Krastev reflects on the future of the European Union-and its potential lack of a future. With far-right nationalist parties on the rise across the continent and the United Kingdom planning for Brexit, the European Union is in disarray and plagued by doubts as never before. Krastev includes chapters devoted to Europe's major problems (especially the political destabilization sparked by the more than 1.3 million migrants from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia), the spread of right-wing populism (taking into account the election of Donald Trump in the United States), and the thorny issues facing member states on the eastern flank of the EU (including the threat posed by Vladimir Putin's Russia). In a new afterword written in the wake of the 2019 EU parliamentary elections, Krastev concludes that although the union is as fragile as ever, its chances of enduring are much better than they were just a few years ago.

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Reviews

Ivan Krastev is one of the most interesting thinkers of our time. A juggler of paradoxes, an assailer of conventional wisdoms-you may not always agree but you will never be bored. At once an antidote to foolish optimism and to resigned pessimism, this fascinating meditation on the collapse of Europe as we know it is classic Krastev. -Robert Kagan Ivan Krastev is one of Europe's leading thinkers, and After Europe offers a stark warning about the direction in which the continent is heading. Anyone who care about the future of the European project should read it carefully. -Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State To read this book is to be in the company of one of the great European minds of today. With his characteristic combination of perceptiveness and sympathy, Ivan Krastev gives us in this learned essay just what we need to understand Europe's crisis-and to contemplate our own. -Timothy Snyder, Yale University Ivan Krastev is one of the sharpest and most elegant political writers to emerge from Eastern Europe in recent years. In this slim volume, which is a treasure chest of striking observations and colorful vignettes, the Bulgarian commentator brings a distinctly East European sense of tragedy to Europe's multiple crises. -Sunday Times Written with the author's characteristic verve, this bracing book offers a fresh understanding of the current crisis in Europe. Motivated by apprehension yet tinged with realistic optimism, it powerfully highlights why clashing solidarities, declining compassion, resurgent nationalism, and growing geographic divisions demand creative, perhaps surprising, acts of democratic guardianship. -Ira I. Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time Few people question the conventional wisdom like Ivan Krastev. -George Soros Krastev is one of Europe's most interesting public intellectuals. In what is essentially a long essay he argues that the refugee crisis threatens to widen the gap between elites and voters in ways that threaten the future of the entire European project. -Gideon Rachman in Financial Times Satisfyingly intelligent on our predicament or predicaments. -Michael Hofmann in Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year Ivan Krastev's elegant and insightful volume establishes him as the most brilliant and iconoclastic thinker on Europe's future. This short aphoristic volume turns many of the established ways of looking at Europe on their head, bringing added depth to discussions of populism and Europe's political counterrevolution. At a time of pessimism, Krastev ends in a strangely optimistic way with his paean to the legitimacy that can come from the very act of survival. -Mark Leonard, European Council on Foreign Relations Ivan Krastev's beautifully lucid After Europe packs an enormous amount of wisdom into a very short space. He helps us to understand the hostility to the European ideal in the UK and across the channel and to think about the challenges facing the EU in the near future. -Raymond Tallis in Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year

""Few people question the conventional wisdom like Ivan Krastev."" * George Soros * ""Ivan Krastev's beautifully lucid After Europe packs an enormous amount of wisdom into a very short space. He helps us to understand the hostility to the European ideal in the UK and across the channel and to think about the challenges facing the EU in the near future."" * Raymond Tallis in <i>Times Literary Supplement</i>'s ""Books of the Year"" * ""Satisfyingly intelligent on our predicament."" * Michael Hofmann in <i>Times Literary Supplement</i>'s ""Books of the Year"" * ""Krastev is one of Europe's most interesting public intellectuals. In what is essentially a long essay he argues that the refugee crisis threatens to widen the gap between elites and voters in ways that threaten the future of the entire European project."" * Gideon Rachman in <i>Financial Times</i> * ""Ivan Krastev is one of the sharpest and most elegant political writers to emerge from Eastern Europe in recent years. In this slim volume, which is a treasure chest of striking observations and colorful vignettes, the Bulgarian commentator brings a distinctly East European sense of tragedy to Europe's multiple crises."" * <i>Sunday Times</i> * ""Ivan Krastev is one of Europe's leading thinkers, and After Europe offers a stark warning about the direction in which the continent is heading. Anyone who care about the future of the European project should read it carefully."" * Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State * ""Ivan Krastev is one of the most interesting thinkers of our time. A juggler of paradoxes, an assailer of conventional wisdoms-you may not always agree but you will never be bored. At once an antidote to foolish optimism and to resigned pessimism, this fascinating meditation on the collapse of Europe as we know it is classic Krastev."" * Robert Kagan * ""To read this book is to be in the company of one of the great European minds of today. With his characteristic combination of perceptiveness and sympathy, Ivan Krastev gives us in this learned essay just what we need to understand Europe's crisis-and to contemplate our own."" * Timothy Snyder, Yale University * ""Written with the author's characteristic verve, this bracing book offers a fresh understanding of the current crisis in Europe. Motivated by apprehension yet tinged with realistic optimism, it powerfully highlights why clashing solidarities, declining compassion, resurgent nationalism, and growing geographic divisions demand creative, perhaps surprising, acts of democratic guardianship."" * Ira I. Katznelson, author of <i>Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time</i> * ""Ivan Krastev's elegant and insightful volume establishes him as the most brilliant and iconoclastic thinker on Europe's future. This short aphoristic volume turns many of the established ways of looking at Europe on their head, bringing added depth to discussions of populism and Europe's political counterrevolution. At a time of pessimism, Krastev ends in a strangely optimistic way with his paean to the legitimacy that can come from the very act of survival."" * Mark Leonard, European Council on Foreign Relations *

Ivan Krastev is one of the most interesting thinkers of our time. A juggler of paradoxes, an assailer of conventional wisdoms-you may not always agree but you will never be bored. At once an antidote to foolish optimism and to resigned pessimism, this fascinating meditation on the collapse of Europe as we know it is classic Krastev. -Robert Kagan Ivan Krastev is one of Europe's leading thinkers, and After Europe offers a stark warning about the direction in which the continent is heading. Anyone who care about the future of the European project should read it carefully. -Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State To read this book is to be in the company of one of the great European minds of today. With his characteristic combination of perceptiveness and sympathy, Ivan Krastev gives us in this learned essay just what we need to understand Europe's crisis-and to contemplate our own. -Timothy Snyder, Yale University Ivan Krastev is one of the sharpest and most elegant political writers to emerge from Eastern Europe in recent years. In this slim volume, which is a treasure chest of striking observations and colorful vignettes, the Bulgarian commentator brings a distinctly East European sense of tragedy to Europe's multiple crises. -Sunday Times Written with the author's characteristic verve, this bracing book offers a fresh understanding of the current crisis in Europe. Motivated by apprehension yet tinged with realistic optimism, it powerfully highlights why clashing solidarities, declining compassion, resurgent nationalism, and growing geographic divisions demand creative, perhaps surprising, acts of democratic guardianship. -Ira I. Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time Few people question the conventional wisdom like Ivan Krastev. -George Soros Krastev is one of Europe's most interesting public intellectuals. In what is essentially a long essay he argues that the refugee crisis threatens to widen the gap between elites and voters in ways that threaten the future of the entire European project. -Gideon Rachman in Financial Times Satisfyingly intelligent on our predicament. -Michael Hofmann in Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year Ivan Krastev's elegant and insightful volume establishes him as the most brilliant and iconoclastic thinker on Europe's future. This short aphoristic volume turns many of the established ways of looking at Europe on their head, bringing added depth to discussions of populism and Europe's political counterrevolution. At a time of pessimism, Krastev ends in a strangely optimistic way with his paean to the legitimacy that can come from the very act of survival. -Mark Leonard, European Council on Foreign Relations Ivan Krastev's beautifully lucid After Europe packs an enormous amount of wisdom into a very short space. He helps us to understand the hostility to the European ideal in the UK and across the channel and to think about the challenges facing the EU in the near future. -Raymond Tallis in Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year

Ivan Krastev is one of the most interesting thinkers of our time. A juggler of paradoxes, an assailer of conventional wisdoms-you may not always agree but you will never be bored. At once an antidote to foolish optimism and to resigned pessimism, this fascinating meditation on the collapse of Europe as we know it is classic Krastev. -Robert Kagan Ivan Krastev is one of Europe's leading thinkers, and After Europe offers a stark warning about the direction in which the continent is heading. Anyone who care about the future of the European project should read it carefully. -Madeleine K. Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State Ivan Krastev is one of the sharpest and most elegant political writers to emerge from eastern Europe in recent years. In this slim volume, which is a treasure chest of striking observations and colorful vignettes, the Bulgarian commentator brings a distinctly East European sense of tragedy to Europe's multiple crises. -Sunday Times To read this book is to be in the company of one of the great European minds of today. With his characteristic combination of perceptiveness and sympathy, Ivan Krastev gives us in this learned essay just what we need to understand Europe's crisis-and to contemplate our own. -Timothy Snyder, Yale University Written with the author's characteristic verve, this bracing book offers a fresh understanding of the current crisis in Europe. Motivated by apprehension yet tinged with realistic optimism, it powerfully highlights why clashing solidarities, declining compassion, resurgent nationalism, and growing geographic divisions demand creative, perhaps surprising, acts of democratic guardianship. -Ira I. Katznelson, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time Few people question the conventional wisdom like Ivan Krastev. -George Soros Krastev is one of Europe's most interesting public intellectuals. In what is essentially a long essay he argues that the refugee crisis threatens to widen the gap between elites and voters in ways that threaten the future of the entire European project. -Gideon Rachman in Financial Times Satisfyingly intelligent on our predicament or predicaments. -Michael Hofmann in Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year Ivan Krastev's elegant and insightful volume establishes him as the most brilliant and iconoclastic thinker on Europe's future. This short aphoristic volume turns many of the established ways of looking at Europe on their head, bringing added depth to discussions of populism and Europe's political counterrevolution. At a time of pessimism, Krastev ends in a strangely optimistic way with his paean to the legitimacy that can come from the very act of survival. -Mark Leonard, European Council on Foreign Relations Ivan Krastev's beautifully lucid After Europe packs an enormous amount of wisdom into a very short space. He helps us to understand the hostility to the European ideal in the UK and across the channel and to think about the challenges facing the EU in the near future. -Raymond Tallis in Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year

Author Information

Ivan Krastev is Chair of the Center for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria, and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna. He is a contributing opinion writer for the International New York Times and author of Democracy Disrupted: The Politics of Global Protest, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

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