European integration has many origins, although its history goes back less far than is often assumed. This study offers an accessible and engaging overview of the past and present of today's European Union, from the postwar era to the present day. Beginning with the foundational treaties of the 1950s, the book examines how the EU became an increasingly global actor through the 1980s and 1990s. Focusing particularly on recent developments, Kiran Klaus Patel explores how the EU's current role was far from a given and remains fragile. Looking beyond public discourse fixated on crisis, Patel highlights the adaptability and resilience of the EU and how it has turned challenges into opportunities and expanded its own role in the process. This book sheds new light on the past in order to understand the present – and possible options for the future. In the process, it challenges conventional wisdoms of Europhiles and Eurosceptics alike.