Abstract
The paper analyses the links between the global crisis of civilisation and the development of the European Union and European nation-states. It specifies the substantive content of the polycrisis and the inadequate capacity of politics at the global, European, and national levels to respond to it in a timely and effective manner. Considering how past civilisational formations have emerged, evolved, and collapsed raises questions and potential answers about how this crisis can be addressed by public policy and administration at both the European and national levels.