Russias intervention in the Ukraine, Donald Trumps presidency and instability in the Middle East are just a few of the factors that have brought an end to the immediate post-Cold War belief that a new international order was emerging: one where fear and uncertainty gave way to a thick normative and institutional architecture that diminished the importance of material power. This has raised questions about the instruments we use to understand order in Europe and in international relations. The chapters in this book aim to assess whether foreign policy actors in Europe understand the international system and behave as realists. They ask what drives their behaviour, how they construct material capabilities and to what extent they see material power as the means to ensure survival. They contribute to a critical assessment of realism as a way to understand both Europes current predicament and the contemporary international system.

Roberto Belloni is professor of political science at the University of Trento, Italy.Vincent Della Sala is associate professor of political science at the University of Trento, Italy.Paul Viotti is professor at the University of Denver's Korbel School of International Studies and Executive Director of the Institute on Globalization and Security, USA.

Introduction- Roberto Belloni and Vincent Della Sala. Fear and Uncertainty in Europe.- Chapter 1 Jack Donnelly. What Do We Mean By Realism? And How And What Does Realism Explain?.- Chapter 2 - Paul R. Viotti. Nationalism vs. Internationalism: Fears, Uncertainties and Geopolitics in Europe.- Chapter 3 - Paul van Hooft and Annette Freyberg-Inan. Europe may be done with power, but power is not done with Europe: Europe during an era of American unipolarity and of relative decline.- Chapter 4 - Alex Reichwein - Germanys growing power in EUrope: From multilateral collectivism towards re-nationalization and destabilization?.- Chapter 5 - Benedikt Erforth. When Power Meets Perception: Frances Fight Against Terrorism in the Sahara-Sahel.- Chapter 6 - Fabrizio Coticchia. Unheard Voices: International Relations Theory and Italian Defence Policy.- Chapter 7 Natalia Morozova. From Ontological Insecurity To Counter-Hegemony: Russias Post-Soviet Engagement With Geopolitics And Eurasianism.- Chapter 8 - Özgür Özdamar and Balkan Devlen. Man vs. the System: Turkish Foreign Policy after the Arab Uprisings.- Chapter 9 - Pauline Schnapper. British Foreign Policy in the Context of Brexit: Realism or Irrationality?.- Chapter 10 - Sten Rynning. As NATO Looks East, Will It Stumble in the South? The Case of Protection of Civilians Policy.- Chapter 11 - Vincent Della Sala and Roberto Belloni. Realism in the EU: Can a Trans-national Actor be Strategic?.- Chapter 12 - Catherine Gegout. Realism, Neocolonialism and European Military Intervention in Africa.