Taking inspiration from the heated discussions that preceded the birth of federal government in the United States, Larry Siedentop investigates what we can reasonably expect and what we have to fear from a united Europe. Despite the profound hostility between skeptics and proponents of a united Europe, the outlines of serious public debate have barely been sketched. While skeptics talk of national sovereignty and invoke the spirit of wartime resistance, Europhiles embrace the idealism of eurozones and sound economic management. Larry Siedentop examines whether representative government is feasible across the vast physical scale and human diversity of Europe. He explores the threat to local autonomy and individual freedom, and he anatomizes the widely different political cultures of Britain, France, and Germany. He balances throughout an understanding of the great theorists of supranational government, especially Montesquieu and De Tocqueville, with a deep, though critical, appreciation of contemporary Europe. Siedentop argues that it is only on a publicly discussed and commonly agreed upon constitution that one can hope to build a democratic Europe equal to the pressures it will have to withstand.

Full of provocative thoughts and ideas... Europe has waited far too long for this kind of scrutiny. The Economist A thrilling, compulsively readable book about constitutional reform in the European Union. The Observer The brilliant new book... is an eloquent call on the leaders of Europe to rise to the task of creating a proper democratic framework for the political construction of new Europe. The Times (London) This enjoyable, easily accessible 'call to arms' is recommended. -- W.M. Downs Choice Reviews

Larry Siedentop is a faculty lecturer in political thought at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Keble College. He is also the author of Tocqueville.