"This Palgrave Handbook makes an important contribution to debates on the future of liberal democracy. Bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives and rich empirical analyses, it shows how liberal principles and practices are contested, reworked, and sometimes undermined across institutions, policies, and borders." 

--Tanja Börzel, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany  

"This Palgrave Handbook provides invaluable insights into the most significant challenge to liberal democracy today, the dissensus from outside as well as from within Europe that has led to the disruption, destabilization, and in certain instances even destruction of democratic institutions and politics along with liberal norms and values."

--Vivien A. Schmidt, Boston University, USA, and the European University Institute, Italy  

"The publication of this excellent book could not be more timely, at a moment when the contestation of liberal democracy in the European Union, both from within and from outside has reached its peak . " 

--Gábor Halmai, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Hungary, and European University Institute (EUI), Italy  

This open access handbook offers a comprehensive analysis of dissensus over liberal democracy in Europe. Moving beyond accounts that focus solely on democratic backsliding, it conceptualises dissensus as a structural conflict over the ideal, meaning and practice of liberal democracy, unfolding across EU institutions, member states, and key policy domains. It examines:

·       What forms does dissensus over liberal democracy take within the European Union?

·       How have EU institutions responded over recent decades to increasing challenges to its core values?

·       How does dissensus reshape the EU's internal policies?

·       What are the implications for the EU's capacity to act beyond its borders?

·       And how do external state and non-state actors influence dissensus within the EU and its neighbourhood?