The Debt Crisis and European Democratic Legitimacy | Huw Macartney | Palgrave Macmillan

The Debt Crisis and European Democratic Legitimacy | Huw Macartney | Palgrave Macmillan

Europe is facing a #crisis of #debt and competitiveness. But it is also facing a crisis of #democracy and legitimacy. As Huw Macartney (University of Manchester) shows in this masterful and exceptionally timely new analysis the two crises are intertwined but also pull in different directions, subjecting the project of ever closer union to enormous strain. Through a critical engagement with ordo-liberal and neoliberal intellectual traditions, Macartney explains why participation and consent have given way to coercion and depoliticisation. Financial speculation and growing social unrest have thus fuelled attempts to further mystify the political character of economic policymaking. This comes at precisely the time when the everyday life of European citizens is most affected by the decisions of political classes at the heart of Europe. There are strong reasons to believe though that the kind of violent outbreaks in Greece and elsewhere point to the limitations of this authoritarian, undemocratic governing strategy. The outcome is indeed open-ended. This is a must-read for those looking for a powerful account of how the economic crisis came about, how it interrelates with the political crisis, and why they are so dangerous. #Eurozone #neoliberalism