Europe’s history is key to understanding the current fault-lines in European politics

Despite movement towards integration in the form of a shared currency and political institutions over the last 20 years, Europe shows signs of slipping back into populism and rancour. But do the fault-lines of Europe’s past make full reconciliation impossible? Giacomo Lichtner, Mark Seymour and Maartja Abbenhuis argue that understanding Europe’s past is a necessity if the continent’s functional cohesion and social-democratic vision are to be sustained into the future.