Economics in the Real World / Against European Integration

Introduction



1. Existential crisis, the possibility of disintegration and the European Union in the 2010s
The rise of an existential crisis: the economic factors. Migration crisis and its connection with Europe's demographic crisis. Muslim terror atacks. Populist attacks against the EU. Recognition of the existential crisis. The outside factor: loosening and hostile neighbors. Deep crisis is over, but are new ones coming? Escaping forward?

2. Inequality within and among member countries undermined homogenization and became a source of discontents
Capitalism and inequality. Increasing inequality within the EU countries. Inequality among member countries of the EU.

3. The political representation of discontent: disappearing traditional political parties and rising populism
From class to national parties. Old mass parties are disappearing. Melting down of the social democratic parties. Rising populist parties. Central political issues for populists.

4. Brexit and its possible impact
Joining late-leaving early. 'Hard' or 'soft' landing? The Chequers plan. The consequences of Brexit.

5. Anti-European Union Populism in Western and Southern Europe
Liberal democracy and its multi-ethnic culture. Why became populism triumph in Britain? Wilders, Le Pen and others. Populist defeats and victories, 2017-2018.

6. Populism flooded Eastern Europe and the Balkans-undermining the EU
Real home for populism. The eastern part of Germany. The region left behind. The reverse migration crisis of the region. The crisis of 2008 and austerity policy-authoritarian nationalism.



7. Christian Europe? The use and abuse of Christian values and the populist debate
Populism and Christianity. The special feature of East European nationalist interpretations of Christianity. Christian values and

Ivan T. Berend is a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USA. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the British Academy; the Academy of Europe; and the Austrian, Hungarian, Bulgarian, and Czech Academies of Sciences. He was President of the International Historical Association between 1995 and 2000, and is author of 35 books.

"Ivan Berend brings the sensibility of a leading economic historian whose personal history means he can see the European Union both from the inside and from the outside. He can see its promise yet note its failings. But he also sees that its current 'existential crisis,' as he calls it, means we must choose to either go forward with the bold experiment or slip back into the bad old ways that the EU in its origins was designed to transcend" - John Agnew, author of Globalization and Sovereignty: Beyond the Territorial Trap



"I highly recommend reading this book by a world-wide well-known expert author who presents a concise analysis of the given situation of the European Union, surrounded by enemies and attacked by populist-nationalists inside, but still strong enough to reinvent itself and positively influence the future history of Europe and the world." - László Valki, Professor of International Law, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest



"The EU created peace, democracy, and prosperity in a war-torn Europe; yet, it is now troubled. Why? How can it be saved? Students, opinion leaders, and the wider public should read Ivan Berend's elegant, succinct latest book to find answers." - Daniel Chirot, Herbert J. Ellison Professor of International Studies, University of Washington



"Populism is a political and ideological challenge to the EU - and potentially an existential threat. This book is a timely summary of its rise and how the EU can reinvent itself without sacrificing its core values." - Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy & Senior Fellow, UK in a Changing Europe