Can Europe Survive? The Story of a Continent in a Fractured World

Marsh, a leading commentator on European affairs, draws on an unsurpassed store of journalistic contacts, economic insight, and knowledge of how the EU really works to analyze its responses to various crises since 1989. This meaty yet readable book is essential for anyone engaged with European politics. To be sure, no single work can cover all the dimensions of the European project. Migration, enlargement, the rise of the far right, and other transformative forces in modern EU politics receive little or no attention. Marsh’s assessment of German reunification in 1990, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s increasing hostility to Europe, and defense cooperation among European powers are familiar. Yet his analysis of the intricacies of monetary cooperation (and its relation to Brexit) is uniquely insightful; he shows that through managing rather than resolving internal conflicts, EU member state leaders have ensured the survival of the euro despite large underlying weaknesses in the continent’s economy. The book concludes with optimism about Europe’s future, a sentiment that seems to rest more on hope than on experience.