Research
11.12.2019

Book: Europe’s Burden

Alina Mungiu-Pippidi’s new book is a sobering assessment of EU governance initiatives at home and abroad.

The European Union has long enjoyed a reputation as a promotor of democratic governance in Europe and abroad – particularly through its provision of conditional funding to transform political systems and fight corruption. But a new book by Hertie School Professor of Democracy Studies Alina Mungiu-Pippidi offers evidence that the EU has, in fact, largely failed at this task.

In Europe’s Burden, published by Cambridge University Press in November 2019, Mungiu-Pippidi investigates how effective the EU has been in promoting good governance in some of its own member states and and in places such as Egypt, Turkey and Kosovo. The answer is not very encouraging, she writes.

Mungiu-Pippidi relies on extensive data for empirical insights into the reasons the EU has failed as an advocate for democratic transformation. She outlines new strategies and recommendations for designing and implementing policies in the future.

Read a related opinion piece by Mungiu-Pippidi, “The deeper meaning of the Ukrainian scandal,” published on the Cambridge Core blog on 7 October 2019.

Order a copy of the book from Cambridge University Press here.

 

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