Public Media Coverage of Book
The Europe Illusion named one of Timothy Garton Ash’s books of the year in The New Statesman.
Is Britain's decision to leave the EU as much a European reaction as a British? Yes, actually, according to two British historians (article is in Swedish) PM Nilsson, Dagens Industri (5 May 2019)
‘UBS Banker Turns Brexit History Man’ Steve Slater, IFR Review (12 April 2019)
American Library Association’s Choice magazine:
According to Sweeney (economist, banker, independent historian), Brexit is yet another episode in the ongoing cycle of relations between Britain, France, and Germany. Since 1648 and the Peace of Westphalia, the idea of a united Europe has been touted by William Penn, Henri de Saint-Simon, Adam Smith, and others, though unanimity or even compromise among the three major nations of Europe has fallen victim to the inherent differences between them. The approach to integration has been shaped by wars, cultural and historical factors, and nationalism and particularism. Britain’s isolationism, France’s exceptionalism, and Germany’s conservatism also have proven obstacles in the development of a supranational Europe. The European Union, which may be the closest Europe has come to a successful interconnected structure, has aroused suspicion, in Britain at least, of “mission creep," as EU regulations appear to take precedence over national sovereignty. Sweeney argues, however, that although Britain's previous attempts to stand apart from the continental nations required later, expensive efforts to re-engage, Brexit does not guarantee a lesser role for the British, whose role as “other” could prove valuable.
--E. J. Jenkins, Arkansas Tech University
Articles by Stuart Sweeney on the Book
Smith, Kant and de Gualle in History Today (15 March 2019) by Stuart Sweeney
Reaktion books blog post on The Europe Illusion
Event Recordings
Podcast of Sweeney’s talk at the London School of Economics