How Europe Survives
The Adaptability and Resilience of a Continent in Peril
Catherine E De Vries author Alexandros Kentikelenis author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:22nd Oct '26
Should be back in stock very soon
A bold new take on how Europe adapts, endures, and remains powerful in a rapidly shifting world order. Europe is often cast as lurching from one near-death experience to the next—from the eurozone crisis and Brexit to a pandemic and war on its borders. And yet, it endures. Not because it has resolved its contradictions, but because it has adapted through them. Challenging the familiar image of the European Union as fragile or intrinsically flawed, How Europe Survives reimagines Europe and its strengths. Catherine E. De Vries and Alexandros Kentikelenis reframe Europe as a living organism: imperfect, evolving, and responsive to its environment. That messiness is part of its strength. Like an organism, the EU survives by improvising, recalibrating, and absorbing internal tensions and external shocks. Its strengths lie in its malleability and flexibility, which enable it to constantly reinvent itself. It does so both in moments of crisis and in its normal functioning. How Europe Survives is both a reinterpretation of Europe's past and a guide to its future. This is not a triumphalist story. Europe's adaptability has costs and limits. But it offers a practical lesson for governing in an age of permanent crisis: flexible institutions, open contestation, and a willingness to learn can keep a political project alive. Clear-eyed and accessible, How Europe Survives explains how the EU has endured—and what that means for its citizens and its role in the world.
A timely and thought-provoking reflection on the continent's past, present and future. An essential read for defenders of Europe. * Enrico Letta, former prime minister of Italy *
Lately it has been very popular to bash Europe and criticise its lack of action in an increasingly turbulent world. This book by de Vries and Kentikelenis offers a different perspective. It shows that the European Union, since its creation, has indeed been a very adaptive organism and has remained resilient throughout decades of crises because of its flexibility. Therefore, also in this era of polycrisis, there is hope-if there is enough political will. * Cecilia Malmström, former European Commissioner for Trade, and for Home Affairs *
De Vries and Kentikelenis explain how Europe has adapted to survive, and why today's security and economic challenges will demand more than muddling through. A bracing and timely agenda for action, and essential reading for scholars and practitioners alike. * Simon Hix, London School of Economics *
European integration has been under strain for years, facing shock after shock. De Vries and Kentikelenis invite the reader to explore different dimensions of this crisis, including geopolitical and social. They rebut the habitual doomsayers not through citations of institutional optimism but by highlighting the EU's adaptive strength and its genuine chance to build effective sovereignty. * László Andor, former European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion *
This is one of the most original and compelling books on Europe's future in years. De Vries and Kentikelenis move beyond the tired opposition between European decline and federalist salvation to offer a new way of thinking about the Union. By recasting Europe as an adaptive organism, they illuminate how conflict, compromise and imperfection can become sources of resilience. A brilliant and accessible account for anyone concerned with the European project. * Kalypso Nicolaïdis, European University Institute *
Too much has been written about the EU against an unrealistic template - one that sets the bar so high the institution is declared dead or irrelevant with exhausting regularity. How Europe Survives offers a brilliant corrective: an account of how the EU endures-imperfectly, but durably-that recalibrates the very yardsticks by which we judge it. * Stephanie C. Hofmann, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies *
This is exactly the book we need right now. De Vries and Kentikelenis compellingly show how the complexity, imperfections, and resilience of the European Union are a feature not a bug-and surprising sources of strength and adaptation in today's challenging world. This creative and deeply thoughtful book is a must-read for anyone interested in a more prosperous, secure, and democratic Europe. * Kathleen R. McNamara, Georgetown University *
[How Europe Survives] find[s] room for hope for European integration, despite all the gloom. De Vries and Kentikelenis have penned an emphatically pragmatic manifesto and one that seems in tune with the times. * Ben Hall, Financial Times *
[How Europe Survives] find[s] room for hope for European integration, despite all the gloom. De Vries and Kentikelenis have penned an emphatically pragmatic manifesto and one that seems in tune with the times. * Ben Hall, Financial Times *
ISBN: 9780197908051
Dimensions: 242mm x 165mm x 20mm
Weight: 536g
256 pages