At Last

Taking a novel approach to the current situation in Europe, foreign policy analyst Fabrizio Tassinari transforms external policy concerns about Europe's neighborhood into questions about Europe's internal future. His contention: that the situation on Europe's periphery is an unforgiving mirror of its identity crisis, institutional paralysis, ineffectual foreign policy, and morbid fear of migrants and multiculturalism.

Looking at each of the countries and regions surrounding Europe, from Russia and Turkey to the Western Balkans and North Africa, Tassinari unravels the challenges facing the EU, weighs the record of its policies, and explains how both can be traced back to Europe's inherent insecurity. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, he argues that gradual and diversified forms of integration with its many neighbors is Europe's best alternative to a progressive, but inexorable fragmentation of the EU. The ability to meet this challenge will not only test Europe's unfulfilled global aspirations, it will be crucial to its very survival.

The Autumn to Come

As vacations approach, I have finalized a number of initiatives that will hopefully be in full swing by the time I come back in early Fall. The initiatives are all aimed at presenting and discussing my forthcoming book Why Europe Fears Its Neighbors. As it turns out, it will be two mini-tours: one, more extended across time and space, in Europe and the other, shorter one in the U.S.

For Europe, I have two, possibly three, events in schedule for now: a book launch in Stockholm on October 5-6, at the Baltic Development Forum, a Davos-like organization for Northern Europe which this year will feature the Swedish, Finnish and Latvian Prime Ministers, Jeremy Rifkin, Lilia Shevtsova, and... HRH Pricess Victoria of Sweden (wonder what she will have to say about Europe's neighbors..). Beginning of November, I will then launch the book in Copenhagen, at my home institution the Danish Institute for International Studies with my former CEPS colleague Michael Emerson and--hopefully--the former Ukranian foreign Minister Borys Tarasjuk as discussants. Later in the spring, I will be at the University of Cambridge and hope to arrange a small event there as well.

In the U.S. the main book-launch event in late October will be in Washington D.C., kindly hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars and co-sponsored by the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins' SAIS. Other two initiatives, also during that U.S. trip in late October, are still in the making but look quite promising so far. I should present an academic paper based on the book at the Forum for Contemporary Europe at Stanford University as well as at at the Center for European Studies at Harvard.

And now, Inshallah, holidays!