The new political geography of Europe

The euro crisis has revolutionised politics across Europe, obscured by a focus on what’s happening in Berlin and Brussels. Established political parties are fighting for their lives, and countries have been cast out from the European core to the periphery.

This collection of essays, edited by Nicholas Walton and Jan Zielonka, examining how the crisis has affected the political dynamics in 14 member states throws a light on the roots of a new political geography in Europe. The chapters – by prominent thinkers, journalists, and academics in the 14 countries – identify the main points of contention and new political forces. The countries covered are France, Portugal, Denmark, Britain, Poland, Italy, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Bulgaria.

The reshuffling of Europe’s political geography is happening across four dimensions:

• Established elites are under extreme pressure from new political forces and populist movements.

• The division between core and periphery is growing, with many countries that thought of themselves at Europe’s heart now disenfranchised.

• The core is fracturing, with an unbridgeable gap growing between Paris and Berlin, and others happy to veto key proposals for ending the crisis.

• There is no shared vision of European integration, despite the growing talk of 'political union'.