Europe, both within and beyond the European Union, now confronts a deeply interlocking web of political, economic, and social crises. While Europeans are acutely aware of the scale of these challenges, the institutions and methods that once helped the continent weather past storms increasingly appear ill-equipped to address today's problems.
A survey of the continent's economic powerhouses—Germany, Britain, France and Italy—offers a bleak outlook; France remains ensnared in recurring political unrest; Britain endures persistent economic stagnation. Italy's economy continues to shrink; and Germany, despite its industrial might, has become a political lightweight—an incongruity that echoes throughout its society and culture.
Collectively, these conditions indicate a continent seeking a renewed role on the global stage, eager to secure a share in the rewards promised by the advancements in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies.
Then came Russia's invasion of Ukraine—a seismic shock to the European psyche. It shattered the illusion that the era of major wars on European soil had ended, and that the horrors of Yugoslavia in the 1990s were a grim aberration rather than a harbinger. That illusion was underpinned by faith in the pacifying power of economic prosperity—one founded on openness and partnership—as a force strong enough to defuse nationalist resentments and lay to rest anxieties about shifting borders, geopolitical rivalries and terrorism.
For a time, mega energy deals with Russia and the construction of undersea pipelines were held up as emblems of a new era of cordial relations with Moscow, despite its starkly different political system. Yet with the outbreak of war in February 2022, that entire edifice collapsed. The spectres of the 19th and 20th centuries proved not only undimmed but startlingly resurgent.
