ABSTRACT
This volume examined the complex relationship between European identity, solidarity, and cooperation among integrating states, which is at the heart of much of Habermas’ writings. Our findings demonstrate that Habermas’ ideas in The Crisis of the European Union (2012) are difficult to apply due to the complex realties present in Europe. When examining the underlying values associated with cosmopolitanism, we see evidence that such values are associated with European integration. However, the association tends to dissipate when difficult times are present—such as those of this writing in November 2015, with a large-scale refugee crisis and increasing fears of terrorism in the wake of the attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015 resulting in increased intra-European border security and an upspring of national sentiment. We suggest conceptual tools that governmental and societal leaders may find useful in grounding common solutions into the cosmopolitanist framework. Last, we reviewed cases to see if we can find evidence of cosmopolitanism's application and what impact it would have in the policy and institutional arenas. All of these essays emphasizing events prior to 2015 bear striking relevance to debates now dominating both the European Parliament and European national parliaments.
