Tag Archives: globalisation

Germany on top, Europe in trouble? Discuss. Part I.

A casual answer to the essay question in the title of this book review may suggest that the two statements are causal, and that the prime cause is that Germany is top dog. Both books under review do not rush … Continue reading

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British ideas of Europe: PART 3. The European Union in Crisis.

In his book, COLLAPSE : Europe after the European Union,(Biteback, 2018) Ian Kearns issues a warning to Euro-optimists to cease dreaming of a brighter future. Get real, learn about your continent’s history, and smell the coffee. The fate of the continent … Continue reading

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America and the World: Part III. The Crash of 2008 and Eurotragedy.

The two books under review analyze the financial crash of 2008 from different perspectives. Adam Tooze, the historian and director of the Columbia University European Institute in New York, authors Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed The World, … Continue reading

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Is it Trump or the EU that is swapping big ideas for bad ideas?

Philip Stevens writes in the FT about“How the world swapped a big idea for a bad idea”. The big idea was “the revolutionary thought that the selfish interests of rich and rising states could be accommodated if everyone played by … Continue reading

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You’re wrong, Matthew Parris: sovereignty is worth more than a sneer.

In his usually witty manner, Matthew Parris, in The Times of February 24,  trashes “Hologram May” for leading “a hopeless mission”. “As obstacles appear on the route to Plateau Sovereignty, perhaps this illusory leader’s role is to make sure it’s … Continue reading

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America and the world: Part I.

The key words in this cluster of books, focusing on the US, are emerging , retreat, closing and anger. Pankaj Mishra, in Age of Anger: A History of the Present, says that the paranoid hatreds of the present world have … Continue reading

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Brexit: A Certain Idea of Europe.

The result of the June 23, 2016 referendum as to whether the United Kingdom(UK) should remain in or leave the EU seems final enough. On a 72% voter turnout, 52% voted for Leave and 48% for Remain.  Yet the vote … Continue reading

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Realpolitik and the European Union: Chapter 7. Maastricht’s Unfinished Business.

Maastricht’s unfinished business. The Maastricht Treaty marked the point when the project began to become German, rather than French, Maastricht was essentially a French strategy to corale Germany, to bind it into a European home. Germany played along for a … Continue reading

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Realpolitik and the European Union. Chapter Six. Germany between Province and Primacy.

Germany between province and primacy. Germany entered the Euro on an overvalued exchange rate; with a sclerotic labour market, high unemployment, a loss of international competitiveness, and burdened by heavy costs related to German unification. Between 1990 and 2003, the … Continue reading

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Realpolitik and the European Union. Chapter 4. The Atlantic alliance, the UK and the EU.

The Euro is a neo liberal engine. One of the happy assumptions made by the advocates of the Euro holds that, if all member states hang on in there long enough, all will converge on a European norm, due to … Continue reading

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