Book Review: Dieter Gosewinkel (ed.), Anti-liberal Europe: A Neglected Story of Europeanization
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Author | Nicholas Morieson |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929916676749 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsEurope |
Book Reviews 151
worldview, despite the poor performance of
institutions. The political equilibrium of the
Russian regime thus could prove more persis-
tent than the author might hope.
Alexander Graef
(University of St. Gallen)
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916676912
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Anti-liberal Europe: A Neglected Story of
Europeanization by Dieter Gosewinkel (ed.).
Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2015. 200pp., £53.00
(h/b), ISBN 9781782384250
The European Union presents itself as the
embodiment of Europe’s best self and highest
ideals: democracy, respect for the law, human
rights and economic freedom; in short, liberal
democratic values. Dieter Gosewinkel’s edited
volume, Anti-Liberal Europe, sets out to exam-
ine other ideas of Europe; the illiberal concepts
of Europe that have always existed alongside
liberal Europe yet which are often described as
historical mistakes (p. 3) at odds with the pro-
ject of European integration. Anti-Liberal
Europe argues that anti-liberal concepts of
Europe were not intended to oppose European
integration, and that Europeanisation through
illiberal and violent means has at times
strengthened, rather than hindered, European
unification (p. 17).
The book is divided into three thematic sec-
tions: ‘Concepts’, ‘Anti-liberalism: A Feature
of Colonial and Conservative Concepts of
Europe’ and ‘Anti-liberal Europe in
Dictatorships and Their Aftermath’. The first
chapters focus on the shifting and complex
meanings of the terms ‘liberal’ and ‘illiberal’ in
European history (Gosewinkel and Michael
Freeden). Case studies of anti-liberal move-
ments in twentieth century Europe follow,
including studies of Abendland (Vanessa
Conze), Ordre Nouveau (Undine Ruge),
National Socialism (Jürgen Elvert and Peter
Schottler in their respective chapters), German
Communism (Jana Wuestenhagen) and British
and French Colonialism (Fabian Klose).
Martin Conway offers an afterword on ‘The
Limits of an Anti-liberal Europe’.
Anti-liberal Europe is an interesting and
important book which argues persuasively that
anti-liberal concepts of Europe ought to be taken
seriously as important elements of European
integration. Freeden offers a helpful and subtle
distinction between ‘anti-liberalism’ and ‘non-
liberalism’, while Conze and Ruge provide use-
ful case studies of the influence of anti-liberal
movements on European politics. Klose’s chapter
on colonialism is highly interesting and makes an
important connection between British and French
illiberalism in their respective colonies and their
liberalism at home. Moreover, the volume ought
to be commended for bringing the work of
German historians and political scientists to the
attention of English-speaking readers.
However, the volume suffers occasionally
from a thin link between the assertions made
in its introduction and the evidence presented
in its chapters. For example, Gosewinkel’s
claim in his introduction that specifically vio-
lent Europeanisation was important to the
project of European integration is not dis-
cussed in any great depth in the chapters
which follow.
Anti-liberal Europe can be recommended
to social scientists interested in alternative
conceptions of Europe, some of which con-
tinue to influence the contemporary anti-liber-
alism sweeping the continent.
Nicholas Morieson
(Australian Catholic University, Melbourne)
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1478929916676749
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The European Defence Agency: Arming
Europe by Nikolaos Karampekios and Iraklis
Oikonomou (eds). Abingdon: Routledge, 2015.
294pp., £85.00 (h/b), ISBN 9781138799974
The European Defence Agency (EDA), thanks
to the adoption of strategic documents and its
expertise in the production of projects and data
collection, has become a crucial player in the
European defence field. Despite these develop-
ments, the Agency has received little theoreti-
cal or empirical attention within academia.
This volume edited by Karampekios and
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