Last week Europe was treated to a visit from the US President, Donald Trump, a visit which only served to provide more evidence that the current American Head of State has no interest in maintaining the order America built since 1945, nor in fulfilling the role we have become accustomed to the Americans playing in the post-war era.
A spectre is haunting Europe. This time it is not the workers’ revolution however, but the white man’s revolution – or, I should rather say, counter-revolution. And we shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking it is simply the white working-class either, but the white people of all classes and all European nations. The form this spectre has taken for the moment is Donald Trump, who arrived in Europe on Wednesday.
The European Union is among the most profound achievements of the last century; in many ways, it has changed the face of Europe and its place in the world, from one of violence, strife and oppression, to a beacon of ‘peace…democracy and…prosperity’. By the fin-de-siècle, commentators were hailing the ‘New European Century’ and a ‘beacon of light in a troubled world’. The latter commentator also argued that Europe’s aim was to seek ‘harmony, not hegemony’. This raises a key question, namely, the nature of Europe’s relationship with Imperial power.
Weekend Update; European news stories from across the weekend, including EU politics, further developments since the Paris attacks & more.
In Search of Europa 