No culture, no Europe : on the foundation of politics

Over the past decade, the European Union has fallen into a drawn-out crisis, politically as well as economically. In this book, the authors argue that analyses of this crisis miss an important element: culture. Faith in politics is first and foremost a cultural issue. Democracy is a matter of political culture. Culture is a shared frame of reference and as something that lends meaning to people's lives, is not the superstructure but the very foundation of substructure of any society. The essays analyse and describe both theoretical models and concrete and provocative examples that clarify this central thesis: culture is an essential, binding fabric of investigating and assessing our identity.