First published 2017
Europe once stood as the global champion of democratic ideals and liberal governance. Today, the continent confronts the return of forces it believed it had permanently defeated. Anti-Semitism resurges across major cities. Populist movements gain ground while territorial aggression destabilizes borders from the Baltics to Eastern Europe. Kirchick traveled extensively across the continent to document this transformation firsthand. He reveals the calculated dishonesty behind Brexit's architects and examines how massive migration flows intensify existing tensions between European societies and Muslim communities. Jewish institutions in France and Germany now operate under heavy security. Russian expansionist policies create instability in Estonia and Ukraine. America under Trump signals potential withdrawal from its traditional European security role. Kirchick presents his findings through direct reporting from the scenes of crisis, offering readers an unvarnished assessment of a continent grappling with challenges that threaten decades of postwar stability.
Genres: history, political-science, non-fiction, european-literature, 21st-century, current-affairs
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, social-issues
Setting: Baltics, Eastern Europe, Estonia, Europe, France, Germany, Ukraine
Period: 21st-century
289 pages · Kindle Edition · Yale University Press