Today, the European Union is facing a crisis as serious as anything it has experienced since its origins more than half a century ago. What makes this so serious is that it is not a single crisis but rather multiple crises the euro crisis, the migration/refugee crisis, Brexit, etc. that overlap and reinforce one another, creating a cumulative array of challenges that threatens the very survival of the EU. For the first time in its history, there is a real risk that the EU could break up.

This volume brings together sociologists, economists and political scientists from around Europe to shed light on how the EU got into this predicament. It argues that the multiple crises that have plagued the European Union in the last decade stem to a large extent from flaws in its construction and that these flaws are consequences of the political processes that led to the formation of the EU in other words, the decisions that made possible the development of the EU created the conditions for the multiple crises it experiences today.

This timely and wide-ranging book on one of the most important issues of our time will be of great interest to students and scholars in the social sciences, to politicians and policy-makers and to anyone concerned with Europe and its future.

Manuel Castells is University Professor and the Wallis Annenberg Chair of Communication Technology and Society at the University of Southern California.

List of ContributorsList of FiguresIntroductionPart I: Economic CrisesChapter 1: The End of European Integration as We Knew It: A Political Economy AnalysisOlivier BouinChapter 2: Making Sense of the Greek Crisis, 2010-2016Manos MatsaganisChapter 3: The Consequences of Crisis on the European Banking SystemEmilio OntiverosChapter 4: The Financial Crisis and the Restructuring of the Italian Banking SystemSviatlana HlebikChapter 5: European Science and Technology in a Time of Crisis: ERC, EIT and BeyondJoão Caraça et al.Part II: Social CrisesChapter 6: Austerity and Health: The Impact of the Crisis in the UK and Rest of EuropeDavid Stuckler et al.Chapter 7: Suffering: The Human and Social Costs of Economic CrisisJohn B. Thompson et al.Chapter 8: Achilles Heel: Europes Ambivalent IdentityManuel CastellsChapter 9: Europe Facing Evil: Xenophobia, Racism, anti-Semitism and TerrorismMichel WieviorkaChapter 10: Europe and Refugees: Tragedy Bordering on FarcePaul CollierPart III: Political CrisesChapter 11: The Crisis of Legitimacy of European InstitutionsSara B. HoboltChapter 12: Narratives of Responsibility: German Politics in the Greek Debt CrisisClaus OffeChapter 13: The Double Crisis of European Social DemocracyColin CrouchChapter 14: The Rise of the Radical RightMichel WieviorkaChapter 15: From Crisis to Social Movement to Political Change: Podemos in SpainManuel CastellsChapter 16: Italy: Autumn of the Second Republic by Pierfranco PelizzettiChapter 17: Brexit: The Causes and Consequences of the UKs Decision to Leave the EUGeoffrey Evans et al.Chapter 18: Social Movements, Participation and Crisis in EuropeGustavo Cardoso et al.Conclusion