Europski abecedarij

European ABC (Europäisches Alphabet, 2001) is a collection of lucid, incisive, and highly erudite essays by the renowned Austrian writer, essayist, and critic Karl-Markus Gauß. Structurally conceived as a kind of personal lexicon or dictionary, the book offers an uncompromising analysis of contemporary Europe at the dawn of the 21st century through alphabetically arranged terms—ranging from simple everyday words to complex social concepts. In his essays, Gauß addresses key issues regarding European identity, language, borders, migration, bureaucracy, and political hypocrisy. As an expert on Central and Eastern Europe—and its numerous minority peoples and neglected cultures—the author sharply criticizes the European Union’s technocratic, economocentric model, which often overlooks the continent's cultural richness and historical layers. Through terms that appear unrelated to high politics, Gauß reveals suppressed traumas, ideological delusions, and the dangers posed by new forms of xenophobia and nationalism. Karl-Markus Gauß’s style is characterized by elegant phrasing and an ironic, often cynical detachment, yet also by deep empathy for Europe’s "small" nations and forgotten regions. European ABC is an exceptionally valuable and timeless work that encourages critical reflection on what Europe truly is—and what, beyond political slogans and bureaucratic clichés, it ought to be.