ABSTRACT

The demise of Communism and the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 presented Europe with a golden opportunity to unite and become a great stabilizing force in the world today. Across the Continent, from East to West, a new consensus emerged in favor of democracy, pluralism, human rights, and the rule of law. For a brief, euphoric moment there was a high tide supporting the idea of European integration, the hope that a common European purpose might yet assert itself beyond the selfish interests of the individual nation-states. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the common ideals of peace, security, freedom, and prosperity suddenly seemed within reach of millions who had been denied this promise to the eastern half of the Continent. Since that peak, the idea of Europe has seemed to flounder in both East and West.