The EU: An Obituary - Softcover

"John Gillingham has established himself as one of those very rare commentators who can read European history in three dimensions." --Norman Stone, Oxford University "An excellent, up-to-date history of the EU which overturns many preconceived ideas and challenges the views of Eurofanatics and Eurosceptics alike."--Ian Sked, London School of Economics "John Gillingham is the pre-eminent American historian of the European Union."--Charles S. Maier, Harvard University "At a time when clear thinking about Europe's political and economic future is urgently needed, John Gillingham has provided a convincing diagnosis of the EU's present malaise and a challenging set of prescriptions which deserve to be taken seriously by Euro-philes as much as by Euro-sceptics."--Sir Geoffrey Owen, London School of Economics "As a means to take corrective actions and ultimately save the EU, Gillingham pursues a historically driven reassessment of the EU's past aimed at examining missteps, discovering subsequent solutions, and offering a glimpse into a potential future. In light of the its uneven course during its years of formation, expansion, and consolidation while currently faced with systemic threats, the EU requires fundamental reforms to remain relevant in an increasingly globalized international system."--Choice

With Britain leaving the EU, now is the time for an obituary for the EU as an institution. In this short, rigorously argued book, updated after Brexit, John R. Gillingham tells the history of an idea that has soured and withered away. He reveals the failures from its postwar origins to set out what the EU was; the role that Delors played in creating the neoliberal monster it is today, and the contemporary - crises; refugees, Brexit, the Euro - that the current institution fails to deal with.