Europe Adrift: The conflicting demands of unity, nationalism, economic security, political stab ility, and military readiness now facing a [Hardcover]

John Newhouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 1997

With authority and clarity, Europe Adrift gives a keen and astute analysis of the struggle of the European nations to reorder their priorities in the post-Cold War era.  John Newhouse--a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and a consultant to the State Department--is perfectly placed to examine the deep and continuing divisions in a unified Germany, France's reluctance to accept Germany's ascendancy in European affairs, the self-marginalization of Britain, the lapses of the European Union, and the complex politics of NATO enlargement.

We are able to comprehend as never before Europe's inability to deal with the tragic events in the former Yugoslavia, the likelihood that a single European currency will be politically divisive and even damaging to the economies it is meant to help, and the dangers of a breakdown of Russia's armed forces, including the system that controls the country's nuclear weapons.

Newhouse cogently argues that the weakness of European governments and political parties, along with the absence of an organizing principle--such as real threat from a superpower--will discourage progress toward a broad and stable European order.  As the leaders of the European Union engage in a headlong scramble to ensure that economic and monetary union begins as planned on January 1, 1999, Europe Adrift will prove to be one of the most important and widely discussed books of recent times.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Newhouse is an experienced observer of European affairs. A former foreign correspondent for the New Yorker and a current fellow of the Brookings Institution, Newhouse believes that Europe is lagging in the race toward the next millennium: "Germany, Europe's nominal leader, is providing little direction, political or entrepreneurial. Britain is divided and hard to predict. France is weak, its mood pessimistic; a spirit of alienation is beginning to afflict much of French society." The solution he advocates requires a three-pronged strategy: further integration through the European Union, tolerance of regional aspirations, and closer association with the United States. But the author doubts whether the major players have the leadership ability or foresight to move ahead. His survey of recent events draws on interviews with elites and is clearly presented, and he alludes to the possibility of turbulence ahead. The author and the publisher have worked hard to ensure that the text is as up-to-date as possible, with recent revisions addressing this year's elections and the debate surrounding the Euro currency. Recommended for academic libraries with a collection in European studies.?Kent Worcester, Social Science Research Council, New York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A veteran correspondent's bleak appraisal of the state of the European Union on the eve of a new millennium. Drawing largely on his own reportage and on statistical data, Newhouse (War and Peace in the Nuclear Age, 1988, etc.) reviews the many ways in which the alliance founded in 1957 as the Common Market has been marking time rather than advancing during the postCold War era. For example, citing the emergence of economic powerhouses at the local level (which stoutly resist the regulatory excesses of bureaucratic Brussels), he speculates that the EU could one day resemble the Hanseatic League to the extent that it was comprised of semiautonomous regions (Bavaria, Spanish Catalonia, northern Italy, et al.) rather than nation-states. The author (now a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution) goes on to assess the obstacles still impeding the integration of East and West Germany, the reluctance of Paris to accept the dominion of Berlin in continental affairs, and the oddly disinterested role played by the UK in the confederation's business. Covered as well are the 15- member coalition's hesitancy to acknowledge that expansion (not a chimerical monetary union) is job number one; the comparatively low priority accorded security; the cultural differences that continue to divide a putatively united Europe; and the reality (confirmed by the area's inability to respond decisively to conflicts in the Balkans) that America remains Europe's keeper--and its pre-eminent power. Newhouse also casts a cold eye on Germany's disinclination to provide an errant Europe with either entrepreneurial or political direction, and the impact of recent elections (in France, the UK, and elsewhere) on the ruinously expensive welfare policies of most member nations. An illuminating audit of the credits and debits amassed by the decidedly strange bedfellows constituting today's EU. (Author tour; radio satellite tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 339 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1 edition (September 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679433708
• ISBN-13: 978-0679433705
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,797,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Generally informative but too biased and error-filled, July 16, 2000

By 

EriKa "E" (Iceland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Europe Adrift: The conflicting demands of unity, nationalism, economic security, political stab ility, and military readiness now facing a (Hardcover)

For the average American this book will teach you a few things. Unfortunately a lot of the things you learn will be misleading, "americentric", or outright false. Let us not forget, as the first customer/reviewer of the book mentioned, the countless typographical errors, which do not lend themselves to credibility. Overall, the book provided an interesting overview and presents a few issues that are of note, for example, Turkey's desire to join the EU but its lack of "high profile" preventing it from doing so. Also the ongoing problems in Cyprus are described. Unfortunately Newhouse does not provide a thorough analysis of the future/growth of the EU and completely neglects the facts, particularly with the regard to the realities of many Eastern and Central European countries' economic situations. One particularly irritating problem is Newhouse's overemphasis on what the Czech Republic predicts about itself and its future, not relying at all on unbiased fact and "hard numbers". The book depicts Czech Republic as a progressive and dynamic economic reform success story. The number will tell a different story. The economy of the Czech Republic is dismal. This may be lack of research on the author's part or perhaps a question of the material growing outdated, as the previous reviewer stated.

Certainly, read this book if you are interested in the state of European affairs, but read it skeptically and critically.

5.0 out of 5 stars Europe Adrift, June 12, 2003

By 

"amys_man" (COHUTTA, GEORGIA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Europe Adrift: The conflicting demands of unity, nationalism, economic security, political stab ility, and military readiness now facing a (Hardcover)

This book was a wonderful reference to me when I was taking my 20th Century Europe Class at the University I attend. Although the information is out of date now that is in it, but the history isn't out of date. We build on history, which is the foundations, so I recommed this book to get a firm foundation on Europe from after the Cold War to the present (1998). THIS BOOK GETS AN A+ IN MY OPINION. Plus it is an easy read and not hard on the eyes or mind.

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting, but full of typos and some glaring factual erro, January 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Europe Adrift: The conflicting demands of unity, nationalism, economic security, political stab ility, and military readiness now facing a (Hardcover)

These books get out of date very fast. However, the background information and analyses of the relationships between countries were very informative. I do think that the copy editor of this book was 'adrift', though. Lots of typos and grammatical errors that even the simplest word processor should have caught. PLUS some glaring factual errors. Not right, especially for a non-fiction book.