A timely and compelling argument for a revitalized and restructured global politics The future seems increasingly uncertain. Our democracies are failing to prevent financial crises, energy shortages, climate change, and war—so how can we look to the future with confidence? Jan Zielonka argues that it is democracy’s shortsightedness that makes politics stumble in our increasingly connected world. With our governments still confined to the borders of nation-states, defending the short-term interests of present-day voters, the consequences for future generations are dire. In this incisive account, Zielonka makes a bold case for a new politics of time and space. He considers how democracy should adjust to the world of high speed, and he questions our everyday experiences as citizens: Is it acceptable for authorities and firms to monitor our whereabouts? Why is the distribution of time and space so unequal? And, most crucially, can we construct a new system of governance that will allow us to plan ahead with certainty?
The European Union is in crisis. Crippled by economic problems, political brinkmanship, and institutional rigidity, the EU faces an increasingly uncertain future. In this compelling essay, leading scholar of European politics, Jan Zielonka argues that although the EU will only survive in modest form - deprived of many real powers - Europe as an integrated entity will grow stronger. Integration, he contends, will continue apace because of European states’ profound economic interdependence, historic ties and the need for political pragmatism. A revitalized Europe led by major cities, regions and powerful NGOs will emerge in which a new type of continental solidarity can flourish. The EU may well be doomed, but Europe certainly is not.
This book offers a strikingly new perspective on EU enlargement. Basing his findings on substantial empirical evidence, Zielonka presents a carefully argued account of the kind of political entity the European Union is becoming, with particular reference to recent enlargement.
This book is a timely and solid portrait of modern China from the First Opium War to the Xi Jinping era. Unlike the handful of existing textbooks that only provide narratives, this textbook fashions a new and practical way to study modern China. Written exclusively for university students, A-level or high school teachers and students, it uses primary sources to tell the story of China and introduces them to existing scholarship and academic debate so they can conduct independent research for their essays and dissertations. This book will be required reading for students who embark on the study of Chinese history, politics, economics, diaspora, sociology, literature, cultural, urban and women's studies. It would be essential reading to journalists, NGO workers, diplomats, government officials, businessmen and travellers.
After months of failed short-term fixes and mounting panic, European leaders from Merkel to Cameron are now agreed that the only sustainable solution to the euro crisis is political integration. A new ECFR policy brief --'A Europe of incentives: regaining the trust of citizens and markets' by Mark Leonard and Jan Zielonka--lays out how a more inclusive Europe could be achieved. The paper also suggests ways to avoid a Two-Class Europe where decision making is dominated by powerful countries, the technocracy-populism trap and continued crushing austerity: Crisis countries need to be relieved from excessive interest rate burdens that prohibit growth, for instance through moving towards Eurobonds or introducing a European debt redemption fund -- The gulf in competitiveness that lies at the heart of the euro crisis needs to be tackled with rewards for reform, rather than a punitive regime obsessed with rules and outcomes. Efforts need to be made to expand the single market in services, energy and the digital economy, and reinvigorate the vision of a Europe that brings prosperity -- Europe needs to empower and involve its citizens rather than alienate them. For instance a weekly council of national deputy prime ministers could make Brussels more accountable and democratic, and a second European Parliament chamber could be created from national MPs to help sign off national budgets. "Angela Merkel says that political union is the key to fiscal union, but Europe is becoming an "apolitical union" where elections allow citizens to change governments but not policies, and technocrats rule the roost. What is needed is a new reform agenda that is generous, flexible, empowering - a Europe of incentives."--Mark Leonard. "The current EU is not strong enough to get itself out of its present crisis or to prevent future ones. The choice that the eurozone's leaders have been avoiding has become inescapable: economic and political integration or dissolution"-- Jan Zielonka"--Publisher's description.
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