Critical Theories of Crisis in Europe

Poul F. Kjaer is Professor of Business and Politics at Copenhagen Business School. Niklas Olsen is Associate Professor of History at the SAXO-Institute, University of Copenhagen.

• Acknowledgements / List of Abbreviations / Introduction: European Crises of Public Power: From Weimar until Today, Poul F. Kjaer & Niklas Olsen / PART I: Semantics, Notions and Narratives of Societal Crisis / 1. What Time Frame Makes Sense for Thinking about Crises?, David Runciman / 2. The Stakes of Crises, Janet Roitman / PART II: Weimar and the Interwar Period: Ideologies of Anti-Modernism and Liberalism / 3.The Crisis of Modernity – Modernity as Crisis: Towards a Typology of Crisis Discourses in Interwar East Central Europe and Beyond, Balázs Trencsényi / 4. European Legitimacy Crises – Weimar and Today: Rational and Theocratic Authority in the Schmitt-Strauss Exchange, John P. McCormick / 5.Crisis and the Consumer: Re-constructions of Liberalism in Twentieth Century Political Thought, Niklas Olsen / PART III: The Causes of Crises: From Corporatism to Governance / 6. The Constitutionalisation of Labour Law and the Crisis of National Democracy, Chris Thornhill / 7. Conflict and the Crisis in Labour Law: From Weimar to Austerity, Ruth Dukes / 8. From the Crisis of Corporatism to the Crisis of Governance, Poul F. Kjaer / PART IV: The Euro and the Crisis of Law and Democracy / 9. What is Left of the European Economic Constitution II? From Pyrrhic Victory to Cannae Defeat, Christian Joerges / 10. Reflections on Europe’s “Rule of Law Crises”, Jan-Werner Müller / 11. Democracy under Seige: The Decay of Constitutionalisation and the Crisis of Public Law and Public Opinion, Hauke Brunkhorst / PART V: The Consequences of Crises and the Future of Europe / 12. Crises and Extra-Legality: From Above and from Below, William E. Scheuerman / 13. “We could Go down the Road of Lebanon”: Crisis Thinking on the Anti-Muslim Far Right, Mikkel Thorup / 14. Conclusion and Perspectives: The Re-constitution of Europe, Poul F. Kjaer & Niklas Olsen / Index / Notes on Contributors

Europe today is not Weimar, but Weimar is not as far away as we might believe, is one of several memorable conclusions in this impressive volume which sheds historical light on today’s European crisis. Kjaer and Olsen have gathered and guided an outstanding team which provides deep and new insights on a phenomenon which accompanies modernity since early on.