Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Britain and much of Europe is hynptized by the struggle between integrationists and nation-starters, and is set to drift towards unification with little idea of its consitutional options. In ths text, Siedentop sets out the key issues for those who wish to construct a Europe that is prosperous, fair and free. rejecting knee-jerk hostility to the idea of a united states of Europe, Siedentop argues that the main enemy of freedom at national level is precisely the kind of unaccountable, dirigiste and bureaucratic government now developing in Brussels. In its place he champions a steady and openly debated progress towards sovereign democratic institutions which combines a Jeffersonian committment to democracy with a very British attachment to gradual reform and pragmatic government.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Democratic Liberty on a Continental Scale?
• Where are our Madisons?
• The Dilemna of Modern Democracy
• How Britain has Lost its Voice
• Why Constitutions are Important
• Three Forms of the State
• Creating an Open Political Class
• Europe and the Global Market
• Europe and the United States Europe
• Christianity and Islam Political
• Moderation and Social Diversity in Europe: The Future

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Lamenting the presumed absence in Europe of any "great debate" over the future of representative democracy, Siedentop assumes the role of provocateur in an effort to jumpstart discourse over the continent's direction. Siedentop's lamentations are evident from the outset, as he begins by contrasting contemporary debate over Europe's decades-old experiment in integration with the quality and kind of argumentation that characterized the America's "far-reaching and profound" deliberations in 1787-88. Where, he ponders, are Europe's counterparts of Madison, Hamilton, and Jay? Refusing to believe that Europeans are "pygmies" who "cannot rise to the occasion," Siedentop sets out to chart "what we ought to be thinking about rather than what we ought to be thinking." In 11 chapters he traces the intellectual origins of self-government and federalism, articulates the elusive goal of creating a "culture of consent," argues why a constitutional settlement is needed for Europe to meet the challenges of modern democracy, warns of the perils of unaccountable elites, ventures into analysis of European-American relations, and suggests that the best course for Europe lies in gradual movement toward federalism. This enjoyable, easily accessible "call to arms" is recommended to a general audience and to more advanced observers. W. M. Downs Georgia State University

Kirkus Book Review

A political philosopher’s tract on the European Union. Enthusiasts of the great theorists of liberty (Locke, Rawls, etc.) will enjoy Siedentop (Political Science/Oxford Univ.). Launching his argument with Montesquieu and moving through James Madison and De Tocqueville, the author develops a complex but clear picture of the many forces swirling around Europe's bid for unification. He argues that a language of economics has replaced the political idealism that usually attends such movements. As a result, European leaders have created institutions that may be bringing their governments together, but not their peoples. Siedentop performs a rigorous analysis of democracy in Europe today, showing how citizens are treated (and act) more like consumers than active participants in their destinies. He finds that there is a lack of a real discussion about what kinds of rights ordinary Europeans should have in their own union and what sort of government should enforce them. Along the way he delivers insightful critiques of Britain and France, which both seek to shape Europe’s future—arguing that Britain, which lacks a constitution, has no firm basis for participating in union negotiations. Since Margaret Thatcher, he writes, the British government has fallen into the trap of dealing with its problems from a lackluster economic point of view. France, on the other hand, is run by bureaucrats who have done a masterful job of influencing Brussels, the capital of the EU. However, the author believes the French bureaucratic model of government is too undemocratic and ultimately will prove unstable (like the many French republics). He believes a federal system on the model of Germany and the US would be more appropriate, suggesting it might establish laws against discrimination while leaving more mundane issues, like the ingredients of sausages, to member states. Wrapped up in these questions are still more questions, including foreign policy and the role Brussels should play in the EU economy. A heady examination of Europe's present and future.