Critical Theories of Crisis in Europe From Weimar to the Euro [Hardcover]

Europe today is not Weimar, but Weimar is not as far away as we might believe, is one of several memorable conclusions in this impressive volume which sheds historical light on todays European crisis. Kjaer and Olsen have gathered and guided an outstanding team which provides deep and new insights on a phenomenon which accompanies modernity since early on.An important new set of contributions that brings historical and critical depth to the understanding of the current polymorphous yet interlocked European crises. The combination of descriptive and normative approaches, drawn from a variety of disciplinary fields (law, sociology, history and critical theory), provides a unique outlook on the structural problems and contradictions that make up Europes overall crisis of public power. A must-read for future studies of the European drama.This book is interesting for readers who are curious about the current hegemonic order, in connection with the still ongoing crisis and in relation to the concrete historiographical practice of interdisciplinarity, beyond the dominant and exclusive specialities.This book provides truly interdisciplinary analysis, bridging the gap between humanities, legal and social science approaches to the ongoing crisis in Europe.What is to be learned from the chaotic downfall of the Weimar Republic and the erosion of European liberal statehood in the interwar period vis-a-vis the ongoing Europeancrisis? This book analyses and explains the recurrent emergence of crises in European societies. It asks how previous crises can inform our understanding of the present crisis. The particular perspective advanced is that these crises not only are economic and social crises, but must also be understood as crises of public power, order and authority. In other words, it argues that substantial challenges to the functional and normative setup of democracy and the rule of law were central to the emergence and the unfolding of these crises.The book draws on anló: