1989 and the West: Western Europe since the End of the Cold War

Last month the collection 1989 and the West. Western Europe since the End of the Cold War was published by Routledge. The collection has been edited by Dr Eleni Braat (Political History) and Dr Pepijn Corduwener (History of International Relations). 

Back in 1989, many anticipated that the end of the Cold War would usher in the ‘end of history’ characterized by the victory of democracy and capitalism. At the thirtieth anniversary of this momentous event, this book challenges this assumption.

impact, consequences and legacy end of cold war

It studies the most recent era of contemporary European history in order to analyse the impact, consequences and legacy of the end of the Cold War for Western Europe. Bringing together leading scholars on the topic, the volume answers the question of how the end of the Cold War has affected Western Europe and reveals how it accelerated and reinforced processes that shaped the fragile (geo-)political and economic order of the continent today.

novel historical perspective

In four thematic sections, the book analyses the changing position of Germany in Europe; studies the transformation of neoliberal capitalism; answers the question how Western Europe faced the geopolitical challenges after the Berlin Wall came down; and investigates the crisis of representative democracy. As such, the book provides a comprehensive and novel historical perspective on Europe since the late 1980s.

eleni braat

Eleni Braat is Assistant Professor at Utrecht University, where she teaches 20th century history of international relations and secret intelligence. She specializes in state secrecy, intelligence and security services, and the political and organizational tensions they led to in 20th century Europe. She holds a Ph.D. from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and she has been official historian of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD). Braat is also connected to Institutions for Open Societies - an interdisciplinary research area of Utrecht University focused on the development and expansion of healthy open societies everywhere.

pepijn corduwener

Pepijn Corduwener is Assistant Professor in Political History at Utrecht University. He is specialized in the history of democracy in 20th century Europe, with a particular focus on postwar France, Germany and Italy. He has published widely on this topic as well as on European populism. His monograph The Problem of Democracy in Postwar Europe was published by Routledge in 2017. He is currently conducting a research project on the crisis of people’s parties in Europe, funded by the Netherlands Organisation of Scientific Research.

• Title: 1989 and the West. Western Europe since the End of the Cold War
• Editors: Eleni Braat and Pepijn Corduwener
• Publisher: Routledge
• ISBN: 9781138505070