Europe adrift

by John Newhouse

With authority and clarity, Europe Adrift provides a keen and astute analysis of why in the post-Cold War era Europe lacks direction and sensible priorities. John Newhouse - a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and a consultant to the State Department - is perfectly placed to examine the deep and continuing divisions in a unified Germany, France's reluctance to accept Germany's ascendancy in European affairs, the self-marginalization of Britain, the lapses of the European Union, and the complex politics of NATO enlargement. We are able to comprehend as never before Europe's inability to deal with the tragic events in the former Yugoslavia, the likelihood that a single European currency will be politically divisive and even damaging to the economies it is meant to help, and the dangers of a breakdown of Russia's armed forces, including the system that controls the country's nuclear weapons.