The organization of the European countries is something of a paradox. The integration process gets more tangible by the day and the European Union is gradually growing. Simultaneously there are a number of disintegrative trendsincluding campaigns for stronger nation states, particularly inthe eastern parts of the continent.

Although we can grasp these different lines of development, it is difficult to foresee which will be the dominating one in the future. Are we going to have a politically, economically and culturally united Europe, or is the integration process going to slow down and come to a halt?

The key to understanding the driving forces behind the changeslies in an analysis of the historical background. Europe. TheReturn of History is written by a group of Swedish historianspresenting the development of nation states and historicalregions in different parts of Europe. This anthology thus givesboth an overview and an in-depth description of historicalEurope as well as an understanding of developments today andtomorrow.