Rethinking Europe's Future

by David Calleo and David P. Calleo

Book Overview

Rethinking Europe's Future is a major reevaluation of Europe's prospects as it enters the twenty-first century. David 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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 069111367X
• ISBN13: 9780691113678
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Book Review: Rethinking Europe's Future

In his book, Rethinking Europe?s Future, David P. Calleo encapsulates the history, theory, and reasoning behind Europe?s struggle for peaceful inter-state relations and presents new ideas for Europe?s future course. In three parts, encompassing sixteen chapters, he covers a wide variety of topics from economic theory, international relations theory, to history and the role of complex inter-dependence. Of note is his discourse on the past, present, and future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, and the European Union?s (EU?s) quest for a Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP. Furthermore, his work is strongly supported by many past, and recent, historical case studies that impacted Europe?s course, and still linger in the minds of present day decision- makers.Part 1, Europe?s Living History, covers the gambit of Europe?s violent history from the wars of Napoleon and German Unification, through World War I and II. In this part, Calleo outlines the multi-faceted causes of Europe?s most violent wars and relates them to economics, and to both the development and implementation of international-relations theory nested within economic theory. This is a truly remarkable feat, as well as a good review of both economic and basic international relations theory, as it is written in a manner that a novice could follow. Part 2, Legacies of the Cold War, outlines, as the title implies, the interstate system that developed in the after-math of World War II, as well as explores the development of NATO and the role of Unites States (US) hegemony in both European and global affairs. To this end, the author discusses in detail the effects of bi-polar action, America vs. the Soviet Union, as well as the effects of globalization on both Europe and the world political economy. He then synthesizes these into a very coherent concluding chapter, Cold War Lessons, Old and New. Of note in this chapter, is Calleo?s discourse on Gaullist policy and decision-making, and the fact that in the present day EU, state sovereignty is stronger because of the Gaullist legacy.Part 3, The New Europe, covers old, as well as new paradigms for the future Europe, as well as the role of the US and Russia within them. As with most contemporary authors, he asserts that not one paradigm, but multiple paradigms, must be applied to discern Europe?s future, as well as the future of NATO (in particular the US) and Russia in regards to both Europe and Asia. To this end, he asserts that Europe must make accord with both the US (NATO) and Russia, and that the US must redefine its involvement within European affairs, as well as with Russia and Asia. Furthermore, the EU, Russia, and the US must find some common policy in dealing with Asia (China, in particular) that encompasses both security and economic affairs.In short, Rethinking Europe?s Future is a powerful book that synthesizes the writings of many scholars into a short and easily understandable work that is both nested