ABSTRACT
European integration produces differentiation as well as integration in that the overall shape of Europe changes with every step towards integration. Despite the sea-change that is occurring in the wake of the rise of authoritarian populist populism and right-wing radicalism, the normative significance of the European Union is considerable. It has secured the conditions of peace within Europe and has overcome the legacy of war that had shaped Europe until the middle of the 20th century. European integration was mostly untouched by domestic politics and for the greater part through market liberalism was relatively uncontentious. Europe, and generally European integration, was discussed as if it was somehow separate from what was going on in the rest of the world and as some kind of a counter-force to globalisation. The digital revolution in information technology brought about a new kind of globalised capitalism in a period of economic growth and hyper globalisation.
