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The euro zone crisis has become the most serious test-case for European integration. Since the beginning of the euro zone crisis, its leaders have played the "blame game" against each other. This paper argues that the crisis in the euro zone has arisen not only because of individual member states' irresponsible policy choices, but also due to the design faults within the euro zone project. This study scrutinizes "complex interdependence within the nation-state framework" as the primary cause of the euro zone problem. On the one hand, the single currency regime came into existence under the "complex interdependence" system mainly driven by financialization and cross-country financial transactions, including skyrocketed government and private debt ratios. On the other hand, the euro zone regime, due to its overwhelming reliance on a "nation-state framework", was not armoured against the side-effects of complex interdependence. The paper concludes that unless the European leaders demonstrate the required policy entrepreneurship to take necessary steps and reform the design faults in the euro zone, there does not seem to be any future for the single currency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The euro zone crisis has become the most serious test-case for European integration. Since the beginning of the euro zone crisis, its leaders have played the "blame game" against each other. This paper argues that the crisis in the euro zone has arisen not only because of individual member states' irresponsible policy choices, but more than that, due to the design faults within the euro zone project. This study scrutinizes "complex interdependence within the nation-state framework" as the primary cause of the euro zone problem. On the one hand, the single currency regime came into existence under the "complex interdependence" system mainly driven by financialization and cross-country financial transactions, including sky-rocketed government and private debt ratios. On the other hand, the euro zone regime, due to its overwhelming reliance on a "nation-state framework", was not armoured against the side-effects of complex interdependence. The paper concludes that unless the European leaders demonstrate required policy entrepreneurship to take necessary steps and reform the design faults in the euro zone, there does not seem to be any future for the single currency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]