Johann P. Arnason is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Human Studies at Charles University, Prague. He taught sociology in Heidelberg and Bielefeld from 1972 to 1975, and at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, from 1975 to 2003. He has been a visiting professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, and at the University of Leipzig, and a research fellow of the Alexander v. Humboldt-Stiftung, the Swedish Institute of Advanced Studies, the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut (Essen), the Lichtenberg-Kolleg in Göttingen and the Max-Weber-Kolleg in Erfurt. His research interests centre on social theory and historical sociology, with particular emphasis on the comparative analysis of civilizations.

• 1.Introduction: Perspectives on European Unity and DiversityJohann P. Arnason2. Europe as a Civilisation and the Hidden Structure of ModernityToby E. Huff 3. To Hell and Beyond: The European Civilisational Crisis of the Twentieth CenturyJohann P. Arnason4. The Fall of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Crisis of Contemporary EuropeHelmut Kuzmics5. Europe in Crisis: The History, the Players and the StakesDennis Smith6. Constitutionalism, Judicialisation and Human Rights in the Integration of European SocietyPaul Blokker7. Islam and the European Crisis: Reciprocal Discrimination and Co-RadicalisationNatalie J. Doyle8. Central and Eastern Europe: The New Core or the Periphery of EuropeIreneusz Pawel Karolewski9. Scandinavia Within and Without EuropeBo Stråth10. Conceit and Deceit in the European Union: Imaginaries of Europe and a Pan-Eurasian AlternativeChris Hann

This is one of the best books on the interaction of civilizational history with contemporary political crisis in Europe, and will be read by scholars who read the best books on their subjects.