Fractured Continent Europe S Crises And The Fate Of The West

A Financial Times Best Political Book of 2017 An urgent examination of how the political and social volatility in Europe impacts the United States and the rest of the world. The dream of a United States of Europe is unraveling in the wake of several crises now afflicting the continent. The single Euro currency threatens to break apart amid bitter arguments between rich northern creditors and poor southern debtors. Russia is back as an aggressive power, annexing Crimea, supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine, and waging media and cyber warfare against the West. Marine Le Pen’s National Front won a record 34 percent of the French presidential vote despite the election of Emmanuel Macron. Europe struggles to cope with nearly two million refugees who fled conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. Britain has voted to leave the European Union after forty-three years, the first time a member state has opted to quit the world’s leading commercial bloc. At the same time, President Trump has vowed to pursue America First policies that may curtail U.S. security guarantees and provoke trade conflicts with its allies abroad. These developments and a growing backlash against globalization have contributed to a loss of faith in mainstream ruling parties throughout the West. Voters in the United States and Europe are abandoning traditional ways of governing in favor of authoritarian, populist, and nationalist alternatives, raising a profound threat to the future of our democracies. In Fractured Continent, William Drozdiak, the former foreign editor of The Washington Post, persuasively argues that these events have dramatic consequences for Americans as well as Europeans, changing the nature of our relationships with longtime allies and even threatening global security. By speaking with world leaders from Brussels to Berlin, Rome to Riga, Drozdiak describes the crises. the proposed solutions, and considers where Europe and America go from here. The result is a timely character- and narrative-driven book about this tumultuous phase of contemporary European history.

A revelatory examination of the global impact of Emmanuel Macron's tumultuous presidency. A political novice leading a brand new party, in 2017 Emmanuel Macron swept away traditional political forces and emerged as president of France. Almost immediately he realized his task was not only to modernize his country but to save the EU and a crumbling international order. From the decline of NATO, to Russian interference, to the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protestors, Macron's term unfolded against a backdrop of social conflict, clashing ambitions, and resurgent big-power rivalries. In The Last President of Europe, William Drozdiak tells with exclusive inside access the story of Macron's presidency and the political challenges the French leader continues to face. Macron has ridden a wild rollercoaster of success and failure: he has a unique relationship with Donald Trump, a close-up view of the decline of Angela Merkel, and is both the greatest beneficiary from, and victim of, the chaos of Brexit across the Channel. He is fighting his own populist insurrection in France at the same time as he is trying to defend a system of values that once represented the West but is now under assault from all sides. Together these challenges make Macron the most consequential French leader of modern times, and perhaps the last true champion of the European ideal.

A revelatory examination of the global impact of Emmanuel Macron's tumultuous presidency. A political novice leading a brand new party, in 2017 Emmanuel Macron swept away traditional political forces and emerged as president of France. Almost immediately he realized his task was not only to modernize his country but to save the EU and a crumbling international order. From the decline of NATO, to Russian interference, to the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protestors, Macron's term unfolded against a backdrop of social conflict, clashing ambitions, and resurgent big-power rivalries. In The Last President of Europe, William Drozdiak tells with exclusive inside access the story of Macron's presidency and the political challenges the French leader continues to face. Macron has ridden a wild rollercoaster of success and failure: he has a unique relationship with Donald Trump, a close-up view of the decline of Angela Merkel, and is both the greatest beneficiary from, and victim of, the chaos of Brexit across the Channel. He is fighting his own populist insurrection in France at the same time as he is trying to defend a system of values that once represented the West but is now under assault from all sides. Together these challenges make Macron the most consequential French leader of modern times, and perhaps the last true champion of the European ideal.

The past few years have seen an unprecedented mass migration to Europe, as refugees from war and poverty throughout north Africa and the Middle East have embarked on perilous journeys across the Mediterranean in the hope of being allowed to start new lives in Europe. This book draws on more than five hundred firsthand accounts to reveal the human story behind the statistics and demagoguery. What is it like to set out for Europe with your family, knowing the dangers you face on the way? Why are so many people willing to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean? What are their hopes and fears? And why is Europe, one of the richest regions of the world, unable to cope? More than just telling a human story, Heaven Crawley and colleagues provide a framework for understanding the dynamics underpinning the current wave of migration and challenging politicians, policy makers, and the media to rethink their understanding of why and how people move. --

In September 2019， the 6th High-level Think Tanks Symposium of China and CEEC was held in Bled， Slovenia. The Symposium took place regularly in China or CEE countries each year from 2013 to 2019， and it is a top-level platform for scholars， experts and government officials from China and CEE countries to discuss China-CEEC Cooperation. This book collected essays of the 6th Symposium， which analyzed the achievements of China-CEEC Cooperation in the past eight years and discussed the direction for future cooperation from multiple dimensions. The purpose of this book is to provide readers with a comprehensive perspective of analyzing China-CEEC Cooperation and contribute to the success of the 6th Symposium.

Inspired by the democratic origins of the Greek naval victory at Salamis, the book discusses the current pressing issues of democracy worldwide. In 12 carefully selected chapters, well-renowned scholars from around the globe discuss topics such as Brexit, Euroscepticism, or the rise of populism. The authors further analyze various aspects of democracy, as well as various types of democratic regimes, such as mixed government, direct democracy, and cases of quasi democracies. While doing so, they relate this discussion to the pivotal question of how the quality of democracy today can be improved, seeking answers and solutions to current pending problems at the global level. This book is the second out of two edited volumes as a sequel of an international academic conference titled Salamis and Democracy: 2500 Years After that took place between October 3rd and October 5th, 2020, on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the great historical event of the Battle of Salamis, which saved Greek culture and the newly founded democratic regimes throughout the Hellenic world during the Classical period (508-323 BCE). The book is a must-read for scholars and students of political science, economics, and law, as well as policy-makers interested in a better understanding of democracy, governance, populism, social choice, and constitutional law.

A master historian takes us deep into the heart of Europe's current political and financial crisis Walter Laqueur was one of the few experts who predicted Europe's current financial and political crisis when he wrote The Last Days of Europe six years ago. Now this master historian takes readers inside the European crisis that he foresaw. Ravaged by the world economic meltdown, increasingly dependent on imported oil and gas, and lacking a common foreign policy, Europe is in dire straits. With the authority that comes from thirty years of experience as an expert on political affairs, the author predicts the future prospects of this troubled continent. Europe is the United States' closest ally, and its prosperity is vital to American's success and security. This is a must-read for anyone invested in our country's future.

In 2020, the world is in the throes of the COVID-19 global pandemic—an epidemic the likes of which humankind has not experienced for decades. This book speaks to common and fundamental underlying issues that national communities face from a humanitarian and planetary systems perspective. From the globalization initiatives of the last decades, a dynamic and interconnected new planetary system order is emerging. This book underscores the need for decent, ethical, healthy, and just societies that enable individuals to reach full human potential. It explores the future directions of 12 Key Strategic Influencer (KSI) nations through 18 systemic factors that will shape the contours of future planetary governance this century. Finally, it proposes a nonconventional systems paradigm to humanitarian challenges.