One of the thematic shapes Judt identifies is the reduction of ‘master narratives’ within European history. These narratives were the driving force behind much of the conflict that destroyed Europe in the first half to the 20th century. In a sense, especially after the dissolution of USSR and liberation of Germany in 1989, Europe began moving away from intense focus on politically philosophic disagreement and moved towards centrism.
Somewhat similar to how Europe began moving away from focus on extreme political philosophy, European political intellectuals also lost most of their influence over public policy. However, while they lost most agency over domestic issues, they did retain some control over issue areas such as foreign policy. This shift was heavily focused upon ensuring the ‘public intellect’ had more control than old-style political parties
Organizations like the European Union as Judt points out, are not the conventional state. They do not have the ability to protect their citizens. In a time following the September 11 attacks where global terrorism is prevalent, the ability to protect its citizens is necessary to ensure faith in government. Thus, when citizens feel as though their government is not able to protect them, it is able to see how xenophobic and racist posters, such as the ones presented in the World Transformed article, it is a civilian response to trying to resolve what they believe to be the biggest threat to safety.