With national politics so choked off by the crisis, the rise of reasonable technocrats to dominate the leadership of Europe is actually a small ray of hope. But long-term prospects for Europe really rest with the ‘subterranean politics’ of protestors and intellectuals

The displacement of elected leaders by technocrats has been seen by many commentators as a worrying symptom of the erosion of democracy in EU countries. Key decisions are being made at multi-national summits, while European voters often have little say in the process. Yet given the seeming failure of our national-level politicians, Mary Kaldor argues that a pan-European debate about the very nature of the European Union and the Euro is now needed – starting with the ‘subterranean politics’ of groups ranging from the Occupy movement to public intellectuals.