ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the political crisis of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in the context of the so-called globalization trilemma, that is the inescapable trade-off between deep economic integration, national sovereignty, and democracy. The "Grexit" Eurozone crisis, the "Brexit" vote in the United Kingdom and the election of Donald Trump in the United States have been the latest salvoes of anger and discontent against the established liberal world order of post-Bretton Woods globalization. The EMU is essentially a globalization experiment on a regional scale and its incomplete integration has become painfully apparent during the Eurozone crisis. The chapter identifies the Euro-crisis as the battleground of a clash between output and input legitimacy, between executives and parliaments, and – most fundamentally – between global capital markets and national democracy. It concludes with a reflection on the current state of affairs again through the lens of the globalization trilemma and puts forward the need for a "democratic federalist" overhaul of the EMU.
