Introduction to theory meets crisis collection

Abstract

This collection consists of five contributions presented as plenaries at a conference, ‘Theory Meets Crisis’, held at the Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute, in July 2016. The organizers of the conference asked leading scholars of varieties of capitalism, democracy, redistributional politics, European integration and political parties to engage the theoretical implications of Europe’s multiplex crisis. To what extent and how, we asked, has the European crisis confirmed, undermined or reshaped theoretically grounded expectations in these fields? Beyond the confirmation or disconfirmation of particular hypotheses, does the crisis impel us to take a fresh look at comparative politics? The introduction details the contents of the five contributions.