The Paul Wells Show Encore: Timothy Garton Ash’s personal history of Europe
Jun 25, 2025
Timothy Garton Ash, historian and Oxford professor who wrote Homelands, reflects on five decades of postwar Europe. He discusses Europe's high point after 1989 and the later decline, the war in Ukraine and Western resolve, NATO and Russia, generational shifts shaping politics, and why transatlantic ties matter for Europe’s future.
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Two Halves Of Post‑Wall Europe
- Timothy Garton Ash frames post-1989 Europe as a two-half game of progress then decline.
- He places the downward turn beginning in 2008 with the global financial crisis and Russian aggression.
Progress Was Not Inevitable
- Ash argues liberal internationalists confused contingent progress with inevitable history.
- He warns freedom is always a struggle, not a guaranteed march of history.
Briefing A Curious President Bush
- Ash recounts briefing President George W. Bush in May 2001 about Europe with other experts.
- Bush asked, "do we want the European Union to succeed?" revealing US drift from assumed support.
