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The article offers thoughts on the status of politics in Europe. According to the author, the call of the European Union's (EU) elite on the creation of 'more Europe' destroys the societies more politically. Revolutions that influence the future of Europe are being discussed. Additionally, the author argues that the protracted crisis of European integration has caused the deteriorating economic and political condition to European nations. ; published_or_final_version

Vaclav Havel's life seems full of contradictions. As a civil rights activist, he embodied the "power of the powerless" in word and deed; as president, he advocated the market economy, enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and the military interventions in Kosovo and Iraq. As a dissident, Havel steadfastly resisted the communist regime; as a politician, he recognized the necessity of compromise. But these positions are consistent: the Archimedean point of his political thought was the principle of individual responsibility. ; published_or_final_version

EU enthusiasts are in danger of contributing to the decline of the European Union. The causes are distorted views about Europe's past and unrealistic expectations about its future. Integration can no longer be derived from the historical experiences of the founding states, nor are we dealing with a "postnational constellation" in which constitutional patriotism can endow the meaning of integration. The EU of 27 states is more heterogeneous than the European Economic Community of six. But this is not a burden that has to be overcome. Differences and conflicts represent a chance and are the core of what is political. The re-politicisation of the EU is now on the agenda. ; published_or_final_version

The self-limiting revolutions of 1989 in Central Europe offer an alternative paradigm of revolutionary change that is reminiscent more of the American struggle for independence in 1776 than the Jacobin tendencies that grew out of the French Revolution of 1789. In order to understand the contradictory impulses of the revolutions of 1989 - the desire for a radical renewal and the concern for preservation - this article takes as its point of departure the political thought of Hannah Arendt and Edmund Burke. ; published_or_final_version

Acknowledgements This work was carried out within the framework of PIK's COPAN project. We gratefully acknowledge funding by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) via the CoNDyNet project, grant no. 03SF0472A, and of the Government of the Russian Federation (Agreement No. 14.Z50.31.0033 with Institute of Applied Physics RAS). We thank Jonathan Donges for helpful discussions on this manuscript. ; Peer reviewed ; Publisher PDF