European Disintegration?: A Way Forward?

Abstract

Abstract: The present crisis of the Euro is a near perfect example of how causal complexity, unanticipated consequences, and decisional uncertainty can have a significant and cumulative impact on regional integration. In theory, this should be the crisis that will drive the EU from economic to political integration. In practice, the outcome—at least, so far—has been the just opposite. Could it be that what was supposed to be a ‘good’ crisis has turned out to be a very ‘bad’ one? For not only is the crisis of greater magnitude at the supranational level than expected, but it also seems to have penetrated much deeper and more negatively into national political institutions and public opinion. It is even plausible to image a vicious triangle emerging: first, the collapse of the Euro; then, the collapse of the European Union and, finally, the collapse of democracy in its member states.