The World of Tomorrow / Die Welt von morgen
A Sovereign, Democratic Europe – And Its Enemies
The manifesto of a passionate European
In The World of Yesterday, Stefan Zweig depicted the cosmopolitan Europe he had lived in prior to 1914. By the time he put his memories on paper, though, this world no longer existed, having been “washed away without a trace” by the barbarism of fascism. Zweig died in 1942. But after 1945, the notion of a supranational Europe was given a second chance. Visionaries initiated a historical peace project, borders were erased, and nationalism gave way to cooperation.
But this project...
But this project...
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In The World of Yesterday, Stefan Zweig depicted the cosmopolitan Europe he had lived in prior to 1914. By the time he put his memories on paper, though, this world no longer existed, having been “washed away without a trace” by the barbarism of fascism. Zweig died in 1942. But after 1945, the notion of a supranational Europe was given a second chance. Visionaries initiated a historical peace project, borders were erased, and nationalism gave way to cooperation.
But this project might likewise soon be a thing of the past. Democratic deficits are provoking protest movements. Manifold crises have left the people worried about the future. And in many of the states of the EU, politicians – who have no interest in the experiences that influenced the founders of the Union – are looking to whip up new waves of nationalist fervour. Today, Europe stands at a crossroads. What will the world of tomorrow look like?
Robert Menasse explains and defends the idea of Europe, while also inviting readers to criticise and ultimately work to resolve the systematic contradictions of the EU. The alternative is not complicated: either we achieve something that has never before been achieved in history, namely the establishment of a post-national democracy, or we face the threat of regressing into a Europe of nation-states. That would represent yet another defeat for reason – with all the dangers and consequences that go along with that. Anybody familiar with history should be aware how devastating the effects could be.
But this project might likewise soon be a thing of the past. Democratic deficits are provoking protest movements. Manifold crises have left the people worried about the future. And in many of the states of the EU, politicians – who have no interest in the experiences that influenced the founders of the Union – are looking to whip up new waves of nationalist fervour. Today, Europe stands at a crossroads. What will the world of tomorrow look like?
Robert Menasse explains and defends the idea of Europe, while also inviting readers to criticise and ultimately work to resolve the systematic contradictions of the EU. The alternative is not complicated: either we achieve something that has never before been achieved in history, namely the establishment of a post-national democracy, or we face the threat of regressing into a Europe of nation-states. That would represent yet another defeat for reason – with all the dangers and consequences that go along with that. Anybody familiar with history should be aware how devastating the effects could be.
»[Robert Menasse] delivers a polemic denunciation of a process of renationalisation, of a politics that seeks to roll back the achievements of European unification, and in the most extreme cases, to completely eradicate them. … In the lead-up to the European elections, this is a convincing appeal for a post-national form of democracy.« Ralf Stiftel, Westfälischer Anzeiger
»For anybody who is a little exhausted from the continual political disappointments … or the electoral victories of right-wing extremists and Euro-sceptics … in this European election year, there is perhaps nothing better to do than to read Menasse.« Geertjan de Vugt, Süddeutsche Zeitung
»Without putting too fine a point on it, Menasse is an ardent European, just as Stefan Zweig once was. … Menasse … calls his perspective on Europe The World of Tomorrow very deliberately: the book delivers no rueful retrospective glance but a courageous look into the future, which is made even more necessary in light of the stuttering progress of the European project.« Gerhard Zeillinger, Der Standard
»The Austrian writer [Robert Menasse] … turns his attention to the appalling mis-steps of EU politics and yet delivers a passionate defence of the idea of Europe against its nationalist critics.« FOCUS
»For anybody who is a little exhausted from the continual political disappointments … or the electoral victories of right-wing extremists and Euro-sceptics … in this European election year, there is perhaps nothing better to do than to read Menasse.« Geertjan de Vugt, Süddeutsche Zeitung
»Without putting too fine a point on it, Menasse is an ardent European, just as Stefan Zweig once was. … Menasse … calls his perspective on Europe The World of Tomorrow very deliberately: the book delivers no rueful retrospective glance but a courageous look into the future, which is made even more necessary in light of the stuttering progress of the European project.« Gerhard Zeillinger, Der Standard
»The Austrian writer [Robert Menasse] … turns his attention to the appalling mis-steps of EU politics and yet delivers a passionate defence of the idea of Europe against its nationalist critics.« FOCUS
»[Robert Menasse] delivers a polemic denunciation of a process of renationalisation, of a politics that seeks to roll back the achievements of European unification, and in the most extreme cases, to completely eradicate them. … In the lead-up to the European elections, this is a convincing appeal for a post-national form of democracy.« Ralf Stiftel, Westfälischer Anzeiger
»For anybody who is a little exhausted from the continual political disappointments … or the electoral...
»For anybody who is a little exhausted from the continual political disappointments … or the electoral...
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2024, 192 pages
Persons
Robert Menasse
Author
Robert Menasse was born in Vienna in 1954. He studied German philology, philosophy and political science in Vienna, Salzburg and Messina and received his PhD in 1980 with a thesis on the character of the outsider in literature. Menasse then spent six years at the University of São Paulo, first as a lecturer for Austrian literature, then as a guest lecturer at the Institute for Literary Theory, where he gave lectures on philosophical and aesthetic theories, including on Hegel, Lukács, Benjamin and Adorno. Since his return from Brazil in 1988, Robert Menasse has been a writer and essayist based mainly in Vienna.
Robert Menasse
Author
Robert Menasse was born in Vienna in 1954. He studied German philology, philosophy and political science in Vienna, Salzburg and Messina and...
© Rafaela Proell
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
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Year of Publication: 2022
Robert MenasseYear of Publication: 2022
Enlargement
2019 – membership negotiations between the European Union and the Western Balkan countries have come to a standstill; France and the Netherlands have put in a veto. This has toppled many a...
Rights sold to:
France (Verdier), Italy (Sellerio), Netherlands (Arbeiderspers), Hungary (Geopen), Slovenia (Mladinska Knjiga), Albania (Dudaj)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (Hörverlag)
Year of Publication: 2017
Robert MenasseYear of Publication: 2017
The Capital
Brussels. A panorama of tragic heroes, manipulative losers, involuntary accomplices. In his new novel, Robert Menasse spans a narrative arc between the times, the nations, the inevitable...
Rights sold to:
UK & Commonwealth (MacLehose Press), USA & Canada (W.W.Norton/Liveright), Spanish world rights (Seix Barral), Chinese simplex rights (People's Literature Publishing House), Chinese complex rights (Linking), Russia (Text), Portuguese rights (Dom Quixote), Arabic world rights (AFAQ), France (Verdier), Italy (Sellerio), Netherlands (Arbeiderspers), Denmark (Vandkunsten) Sweden (Weyler), Japan (Hosei UP), Poland (Noir sur Blanc), Czech Republic (Plus), Hungary (Geopen), Bulgaria (Lege Artis), Lithuania (Tyto Alba), Croatia (Fraktura), Serbia (Arhipelag), Slovenia (Cankarjeva založba), Turkey (Everest), Greece (Patakis), Albania (Dudaj), Georgia (Intelekti), Armenia (Antares), India/Hindi (Saar Sansaar)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (Der Hörverlag), German Book Club (Büchergilde Gutenberg)
Year of Publication: 2009
Robert MenasseYear of Publication: 2009
Anyone Can Say »I«
History repeats itself. Memories as well. When did the post-war order come to an end? When did the wall fell? A young pair who spent their wedding night watching TV will remember November 9, 1989...
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Netherlands (de Arbeiderspers), Hindi (Aryan)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: English world rights (Ariadne), France (Jacqueline Chambon), Bulgaria (Lege Artis)
Year of Publication: 2007
Robert MenasseYear of Publication: 2007
Don Juan de La Mancha or the Education of Lust
»You can only be happy with your first woman or with your last« announces Nathan's father, thus summarizing the seducer's dilemma.
Nathan too is a seducer, albeit...
Rights sold to:
France (Verdier), Latvia (Jumava), Serbia (Karpos), Hindi (Vani)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: English world rights (Alma Books/Calder Publications), Spanish world rights (Alianza), Italy (Scritturapura), Netherlands (de Arbeiderspers), Slovakia (Kalligram), Hungary (Kalligram), Bulgaria (Lege Artis), Lithuania (Pasvires Pasaulis)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (Lindhardt & Ringhof / Saga Egmont)
Year of Publication: 2001
Robert MenasseYear of Publication: 2001
Expulsion from Hell
During a school reunion, 25 years after graduating from highschool, Viktor confronts his former fellow pupils with their teachers’ Nazi past. The result is real row, and the reunion evening...
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Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Spanish world rights (Alianza), Russia (Text), France (Verdier), Portugal (Ulisseia), France (Verdier), Netherlands (Arbeiderspers), Norway (Aschehoug), Czech Republic (Academia), Hungary (Ulpius Ház), Bulgaria (Lege Artis), Slovenia (Cankarjeva založba), Greece (Polis)
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