The Financial Crisis: An Introduction

Abstract

This section discusses the origins of the Eurozone crisis in European Monetary Union before discussing various dimensions of how the Eurozone coped, its impact on integration, and the crisis’ implications for the future of the EU. While the authors all show that the EU’s response to the financial crisis reflected the scenario ‘muddling through,’ they have different perspectives on the future of integration post crisis. Rosén and Olsen point out that the austerity policies implemented after crisis resulted in collective protest movements across Europe. Tranøy and Stenstad highlight the failure of financial sector reforms to reset the social role of finance in a more equitable way. Caporaso analyses the unintended consequences of differentiated integration during crisis by exploring the impact of the Eurozone crisis on Brexit and the migration crisis.