Playing second fiddle? : contending visions of Europe's future development

This book poses the inconvenient question whether he European Union has become a secondary actor on the global arena, or whether it has perhaps for a long time already been playing second fiddle without wishing to admit it. What indicators would today, after a prolonged economic and socio-political crisis in the Eurozone, imply that the EU can challenge the United States, China, or for that matter Russia, and take a position as a true global powerhouse? Has the train already left the station for what is still a very unique experiment, the European Union? Four different visions of Europess future are discussed in the book, namely, Europe as a promise, a bogeyman, a contested ideal and an anachronism. The book features contributions by ten scholars representing six European countries and displays a careful blend of well established and junior academic writers in the field.