Theorising the Crises of the European Union

This book examines the relevance of integration theories for studying and analsing the crisis situations faced by the EU since 2009. Ten years on from the start of the ‘age of crisis’, it critically analyses the impact of the multiple crises’ context on the EU polity and questions the utility of integration theories for grasping the peculiarities of the particular crisis under study. Bringing together prominent scholars in EU studies, the volume constitutes an essential reference book on integration theories. Its contribution is twofold. First, it provides a comparative overview of classical integration theories for studying and analysing current crisis situations the EU faces. Second, the book connects theories to current debates through an in-depth discussion of recent crises that hit European integration since 2009, with a particular focus on the financial crisis, Brexit, refugee crisis, illiberal tendencies in some member states, and the Coronavirus pandemic. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European integration, European Union politics, political theory, and, more broadly, to European studies.

1. Introduction: European integration (theories) in crisis? Nathalie Brack and Seda Gürkan 2. Legitimacy Crisis in the European Union Christopher Lord 3. Sovereignty Conflicts in the European Union Nathalie Brack, Ramona Coman and Amandine Crespy 4. Cleavage Politics and European Integration Swen Hutter and Ines Schäfer 5. The New Intergovernmentalism and the Euro Crisis: A Painful Case? Dermot Hodson 6. Neofunctionalism in the Decade of Crises Zoe Lefkofridi and Philippe C. Schmitter 7. Between Neo-functionalist Optimism and Post-functionalist Pessimism: Integrating politicisation into integration theory Christian Rauh 8. Sociological Approaches to the Crisis Sabine Saurugger 9. European Communion and Planetary Organic Crisis Ian Manners 10. The Limits of the Europeanization Research Agenda: Decoding the reverse process in and around the EU Seda Gürkan and Luca Tomini 11. ASEAN and the EU in Times of Crises: Critical junctures from the perspective of comparative regionalism Uwe Wunderlich and Stefan Gänzle 12. Differentiation as a Response to Crises? Benjamin Leruth 13. Understanding and Explaining the European Union in a Crisis Context: Concluding reflections Seda Gürkan and Nathalie Brack

Nathalie Brack is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences and at the European Studies Institute of Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium. Seda Gürkan is Lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences and at the European Studies Institute of Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium.