Publication

This commentary argues that the Euro Zone debt crisis has fundamentally transformed the relations among European Union (EU) member states. Prior to the crisis, Northern EU states exhibited solidarity with their poorer neighbors to the South without resorting to hegemonic domination. However, the fiscal reforms that have emerged since 2010 are guided by a process of asymmetric intergovernmentalism whereby Germany sets the scope and pace of financial reform. The author argues that the intensity of structural readjustment policies in Southern Europe is unprecedented. In concluding, the commentary warns that this form of German-dominated European governance could backfire if EU citizens endorse anti-EU parties.