Theorising the Crises of the European Union

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.

• 1. Introduction: European integration (theories) in crisis? 2. Legitimacy Crisis in the European Union 3. Sovereignty Conflicts in the European Union 4. Cleavage Politics and European Integration 5. The New Intergovernmentalism and the Euro Crisis: A Painful Case? 6. Neofunctionalism in the Decade of Crises 7. Between Neo-functionalist Optimism and Post-functionalist Pessimism: Integrating politicisation into integration theory 8. Sociological Approaches to the Crisis 9. European Communion and Planetary Organic Crisis 10. The Limits of the Europeanization Research Agenda: Decoding the reverse process in and around the EU 11. ASEAN and the EU in Times of Crises: Critical junctures from the perspective of comparative regionalism 12. Differentiation as a Response to Crises? 13. Understanding and Explaining the European Union in a Crisis Context: Concluding reflections

'An outstanding volume edited by two leading scholars of EU studies, this is one of the most sophisticated and systematic treatments of Europe’s "age of crisis"’ that I have seen. Ecumenical in its approach, the chapters test old and new theories of European integration against the crises of the last decade. The editors have done an excellent job in ensuring the coherence of the volume. The final result is far more than just the sum of its parts.'Christopher Bickerton, University of Cambridge, UK.'Drawing on new research, this volume highlights the strengths and weaknesses of current theories of European integration. The authors provide a comprehensive guide to our understanding of the European Union and how it has responded to the crises of the past decade. The result is a diverse, engaging, and deeply informative volume that is a valuable resource for students of European politics.'Gary Marks, UNC-Chapel Hill, USA, and European University Institute, Italy.