Can Europe Rediscover the Foundations of Its Civilization?

Is Europe headed toward continued decline — or could the continent be poised for a cultural and economic renewal?

That is the question Northwood University Associate Professor Alex Tokarev and Bulgarian political analyst Georgi Harizanov explore in a new essay published by The European Conservative.

In “Quo Vadis, Europe: A New Dark Age or the Next Renaissance?” Tokarev and Harizanov contend that many of Europe’s most consequential challenges cannot be understood solely through debates over immigration, regulation or electoral politics. Instead, they argue, the continent is confronting a deeper question about whether Europeans still have confidence in the principles and institutions that helped shape Western civilization.

Their analysis examines issues including national identity, immigration and assimilation, government bureaucracy, political fragmentation, military responsibility and the growing regulatory burden on free enterprise.

“The West gave the world free markets and the rule of law,” Tokarev and Harizanov write, while arguing that Europe has increasingly moved toward interventionism and redistribution.

The authors also contend that Europe’s future is not predetermined. Rather than viewing decline as inevitable, they point to the possibility of renewal if Europeans rediscover what they describe as a heritage rooted in Christianity, reason, liberty and the dignity of the individual.

“Decline is not destiny,” they write.

Tokarev is an associate professor of economics and philosophy at Northwood University. A native of Bulgaria, he earned his Ph.D. in economics from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. His teaching and scholarship frequently examine economics, political philosophy, socialism, free enterprise and the institutions that support free societies.

Harizanov is a Bulgarian political analyst and CEO of the Institute for Right-Wing Politics. He formerly served as CEO of Euronews Bulgaria.

Their essay adds an international perspective to an enduring question central to the study of free societies: What cultural, political and economic foundations allow human flourishing to endure — and what happens when societies lose confidence in them?

Read “Quo Vadis, Europe: A New Dark Age or the Next Renaissance?” in The European Conservative.