Book Review: Christian Schweiger, The EU and the Global Financial Crisis: New Varieties of Capitalism
| Author | Jelena Ganza |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929916674586 |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsEurope |
156 Political Studies Review 15 (1)
relation between economic integration and the
rise of ethnic nationalism could be further elab-
orated. Finally, I am not convinced either that
lower support for the radical right parties in
Eastern Europe means that this region is more
open and tolerant than the West. Such a claim
does not take into account that the mainstream
Eastern European parties deploy exclusivist
rhetoric and policies.
Krzysztof Jaskułowski
(SWPS University of Social Sciences and
Humanities, Poland)
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916672801
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The EU and the Global Financial Crisis:
New Varieties of Capitalism by Christian
Schweiger. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing,
2014. 232pp., £70.00 (h/b), ISBN 9781781003886
The global financial crisis hit the national
economies of the European Union (EU) with
full force in the fall of 2008. The Member
States’ economic and social models, or
Varieties of Capitalism (VoC), stood in the
middle of the calamity, each affected in a dif-
ferent yet profound way. Apart from economic
destruction, the crisis has also brought a long
awaited opportunity to deepen, re-establish
and fine-tune the Member States’ commit-
ments to building a fair and prosperous Union.
The book by Christian Schweiger sets out to
explain how the 2008–2009 global financial
crisis has shifted the debate on economic pol-
icy-making, deepened political integration and
affected different VoC in the EU. Essentially,
the author presents a ‘snapshot’ (p. 17) of the
changes which have been triggered by the cri-
sis, affecting economic policymaking and the
European Single Market. Part I of the publica-
tion provides an overview, critique and devel-
opment of the general VoC approach, offering a
framework of analysis for the policy changes. It
reveals that prior to the crisis, too much empha-
sis had been placed on the role of companies
and the promotion of open market competition,
while the political dimension of economies and
the role of the state was largely neglected.
Schweiger analyses the changing political
economy of the Single Market, emphasising
the re-emerging role of the state in stabilising
and sustaining national economies. He evalu-
ates the regulatory and economic responses to
the crisis, also revealing the emergence of
deeper political cooperation within the
Eurozone. Schweiger masterfully shows how
the new economic policy-making and deeper
political integration could be driven by exter-
nal forces and could occur against the will of
the Member States, all of which has essentially
divided the EU into three different integrative
cores. Part II examines the impact of the crisis
on selected national VoC and on the relevant
national policies, such as fiscal, monetary,
employment, welfare and education.
This seminal work offers a thorough analy-
sis of the emerging post-crisis VoC in Europe. It
helps the reader to understand ongoing national
changes that take place within economic and
social models of the Member States, while also
highlighting the supranational post-crisis policy
shift within the Union. The book is well argued
and it contributes to existing literature on the
global financial crisis and European policy
change. The book would appeal to anyone
interested in economic policyrelated issues, as
well as the processes and outcomes of the
global financial crisis.
Jelena Ganza
(King’s College London)
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916674586
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The Substance of EU Democracy
Promotion: Concepts and Cases by Anne
Wetzel and Jan Orbie (eds). Basingstoke:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. 332pp., £65.00 (h/b),
ISBN 9781137466310
The European Union’s democracy promotion
efforts have received much attention. One the-
sis which enjoys widespread attention is that
EU democracy promotion is messy and incon-
sistent. Given this variance, it is surprising that
there have been few attempts to explain the
substance of EU democracy promotion. Anne
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