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Counter-Revolution: Liberal Europe in Retreat
Is Europe disintegrating? Can open society survive? How to overcome the economic crisis? Will Europeans feel secure again?
Counter Revolution is a bold attempt to make sense of the extraordinary events taking place in Europe today. It examines the counter-revolution developing in Europe, exploring its roots and implications.
The book takes the form of a series of heartfelt letters to the late European guru Ralf Dahrendorf. Several months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dahrendorf wrote a book fashioned on Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France. Like Burke, he chose to put his analysis in the form of a letter, reflecting on the implications of the turbulent period around 1989. Thirty years' later, and faced with an equally turbulent period, Jan Zielonka what next?
This is not a book on populism, it is a book about liberalism. Populism has become a favourite topic within liberal circles and few have exposed populist deceptions and dangers better than liberal writers. Yet, liberals have shown themselves better at finger-pointing than at self-reflection. This book addresses the imbalance; it is a self-critical book by a life-time liberal.
Counter-Revolution suggests that Europe and its liberal project need to be reinvented and recreated. There is no simple way back. Europe failed to adjust to enormous geopolitical, economic, and technological changes that swept the continent over the past three decades. European models of democracy, capitalism, and integration are not in sync with new complex networks of cities, bankers, terrorists, or migrants. Liberal values that made Europe thrive for many decades have been betrayed. The escalation of emotions, myths, and ordinary lies left little space for reason, deliberation, and conciliation. This book examines these different aspects, proposing a way out of the labyrinth.
Counter Revolution is a bold attempt to make sense of the extraordinary events taking place in Europe today. It examines the counter-revolution developing in Europe, exploring its roots and implications.
The book takes the form of a series of heartfelt letters to the late European guru Ralf Dahrendorf. Several months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dahrendorf wrote a book fashioned on Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France. Like Burke, he chose to put his analysis in the form of a letter, reflecting on the implications of the turbulent period around 1989. Thirty years' later, and faced with an equally turbulent period, Jan Zielonka what next?
This is not a book on populism, it is a book about liberalism. Populism has become a favourite topic within liberal circles and few have exposed populist deceptions and dangers better than liberal writers. Yet, liberals have shown themselves better at finger-pointing than at self-reflection. This book addresses the imbalance; it is a self-critical book by a life-time liberal.
Counter-Revolution suggests that Europe and its liberal project need to be reinvented and recreated. There is no simple way back. Europe failed to adjust to enormous geopolitical, economic, and technological changes that swept the continent over the past three decades. European models of democracy, capitalism, and integration are not in sync with new complex networks of cities, bankers, terrorists, or migrants. Liberal values that made Europe thrive for many decades have been betrayed. The escalation of emotions, myths, and ordinary lies left little space for reason, deliberation, and conciliation. This book examines these different aspects, proposing a way out of the labyrinth.
178 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2018
13 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Jan Zielonka
29 books13 followersJan Zielonka is professor of European politics at the University of Oxford and Ralf Dahrendorf professorial fellow at St Antony’s College. His previous appointments included posts at the University of Warsaw, Leiden and the European University Institute in Florence. His latest book is Counter-revolution. Liberal Europe in Retreat, published by Oxford University Press.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 23, 2019
si parte dalla situazione europea (e mondiale) attuale non per fare il classico gioco di rimessa e quindi criticare l’emergere di politiche nazionaliste e illiberali, ma criticando il dissolvimento e i danni generati dal liberismo e dal neoliberismo che hanno condotto a un terreno fertile (e in parte causato) i tempi politici attuali. più che un libro di risposte è un libro quasi accusa (anzi senza il quasi) e si pone come un ottimo punto di critica da cui (forse) fare qualche valutazione.
June 24, 2018
Insightful book on the rise of populism and the demise of liberalism. Zielonka argues, in my opinion correctly, that liberals should not just bash populism but first and foremost should be critical about their own role in it's rise. The crumbling of democracy in the eu, the growing inequality, the dwindling commons and lack of moral in neo-liberalism. There's a lot of work to do.
March 2, 2021
Masendav raamat. Nagu minu kirjutatud :) palju kriitikat aga mitte ühtegi ettepanekut, kui jätta kõrvale paar ideed minna tagasi sotsialismi.
Jah. Probleem on. Raamat on kirjutatud enne koroonat ja ilmselt on täna seis veel hullem.
Aga, kas maailmavaade saab olla süüdi. Süüdi on ikka teatud inimesed, kes autori sõnul pole isegi õiged liberaalid. Ja kes pole kohanenud muutuvate oludega.
Lisaks häirib mind väga suhtumine- valitsus tegi, riik ei teinud.
Pekki, sa oled poolakas, mitte vanast Euroopast. Tee siis midagi. Riik ongi inimesed.
Jah. Probleem on. Raamat on kirjutatud enne koroonat ja ilmselt on täna seis veel hullem.
Aga, kas maailmavaade saab olla süüdi. Süüdi on ikka teatud inimesed, kes autori sõnul pole isegi õiged liberaalid. Ja kes pole kohanenud muutuvate oludega.
Lisaks häirib mind väga suhtumine- valitsus tegi, riik ei teinud.
Pekki, sa oled poolakas, mitte vanast Euroopast. Tee siis midagi. Riik ongi inimesed.
March 21, 2021
Üks neist raamatutest, kus sa ootad huviga milleni see autor lõpuks välja jõuab.
April 19, 2025
Keeruline ja vastuoluline komplekt põhjustest selle kohta, mis läks liberaalidel pärast 1989. valesti ja miks mitteliberaalsed jõud esile tõusevad.
August 21, 2019
An impassioned plea for liberals to look critically at liberalism's responsibility for the current failures of western society. Given Hungary, Poland, Trump and Brexit, to mention just a few of the most recent disasters, it is clear that there is a problem. Zielonka drives home the thesis that liberals and liberalism to a large extent is to blame for these developments. Liberals cannot avoid looking critically at themselves. A reappraisal is required. I agree.
However, I do not agree with every aspect of Zielonka's analysis, but that is to be expected. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, his pointers towards a new liberalism are vague. The first step must be to realize that there is a problem. This book, and others, show that there is a global, or at least western, debate about these issues. I notice that Sweden, where I live, has nothing in this vein. This is a disaster in its own right.
However, I do not agree with every aspect of Zielonka's analysis, but that is to be expected. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, his pointers towards a new liberalism are vague. The first step must be to realize that there is a problem. This book, and others, show that there is a global, or at least western, debate about these issues. I notice that Sweden, where I live, has nothing in this vein. This is a disaster in its own right.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews