Old Europe New Eur Core Eur PA

Shortly after the hostilities of the Iraq War were declared to havecome to an end, the renowned philosopher Jurgen Habermas, with theendorsement of Jacques Derrida, published a manifesto invoking thenotion of a "core Europe," distinct from both the British and the "new"European candidates for EU membership, and defined above all by itssecular, Enlightenment and social-democratic traditions. A keycomponent of the manifesto was its insistence on the need for acounterweight to the perceived influence of the US, a theme that alsoresonates in recent discussions about the establishment of a Europeanmilitary force outside the command structures of NATO.On the sameweekend in May 2003, a number of other leading intellectuals, amongthem Umberto Eco, Gianni Vattimo and Richard Rorty, published essaysaddressing these themes in major European newspapers, and almostimmediately responses to these essays began to appear. The writingssparked a lively debate about the nature of "Europe" and transatlanticrelations that reverberates through contemporary discussion.Thisvolume provides readers in the Anglophone world the opportunity to gainaccess to the debate. As the fallout from the Iraq war continues torumble and EU expansion continues apace, this is compelling reading foranyone interested in the future of Europe and the transatlanticalliance. With contributions by Jurgen Habermas, Jacques Derrida,Umberto Eco, Adolf Muschg, Richard Rorty, Fernando Savater, GianniVattimo, Susan Sontag, Timothy Garton Ash, Iris Marion Young, UlrichBeck, Adam Krzeminski and others.

Daniel Levy works in the Department of Sociology at the State University of New York–Stony Brook.

Max Pensky is Professor of Philosophy at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

John Torpey teaches in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology and the Institute for European Studies at the University of British Columbia.

Jacques Derrida was Director of Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. English translations of his work include Given Time, Memories of the Blind, Specters of Marx, The Politics of Friendship, and The Gift of Death.

Umberto Eco is a professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna and the author of Foucault’s Pendulum, The Name of the Rose, and other international bestsellers. He lives in Milan, Italy.