Introduction : developments in European politics

Abstract

This manuscript went into production as Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia’s war against Ukraine will have transformative effects on European politics and the world order. It is difficult to foresee the full extent of the transformations. But it is possible to take stock of the developments against which future events will take place. To understand the importance of such benchmarking, it is useful to reflect on the history of this publication. More than a decade has passed since we published the last edition of Developments in European Politics. The changes that have taken place are immense. The scale of change is not unprecedented. But the culmination of factors that influenced the course of European politics was transformative. Few looking ahead from 2011 would have anticipated what Europe would look like today; even fewer looking back can claim to have foreseen what would ultimately come to pass. The purpose of this introduction is to set the stage for the contributions that explain such changes. In doing so, we aim to take those slow-moving developments that rose to the surface over the past decade and show how they became woven together. In anticipation of each author’s contribution, we aim to highlight why the different threads they follow are so hard to disentangle. We also suggest that studying certain trends in recent developments in European politics can provide a solid foundation for gazing into the future. We pick up that forward-looking analysis in the conclusion. The stage-setting focuses on four themes: the rise of authoritarian politics, the mismanagement of globalization, the perception of collective insecurity, and the disintegration of Europe. These phenomena not only shape contemporary debates about Europe but also condition the functioning of European institutions at all levels of government and the aspirations of European citizens.