Professor, PhD in Philosophy of culture
Vizja university in Warsaw
Okopowa 59, 01-043, Warszawa
slomski@vizja.pl
RUDOLF DUPKALA, NEXT EUROPE IN THE CONTEXT OF IMMIGRATION.
SECOND REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION.
PREŠOV: UNIVERSITY OF PREŠOV PRESS, 2025, 177 PP., ISBN 978-80-555-3652-1.
BOOK REVIEW
In the second revised and expanded edition of Next Europe in the Context of Immigration, Rudolf Dupkala offers a theoretically grounded analysis of immigration that, while rooted primarily in philosophy and political theory, carries significant implications for economic thought and political economy. The book is particularly valuable for economists and scholars of public policy who recognize that economic systems do not operate in normative or cultural isolation, but are embedded within broader civilizational and value-based frameworks.
From an economic perspective, Dupkala’s central contribution lies in his implicit critique of the economically reductionist treatment of migration, which dominates much of contemporary policy discourse. Migration is frequently framed as a matter of labor supply, demographic sustainability, fiscal balance, or welfare redistribution. Dupkala challenges this approach by demonstrating that economic integration presupposes axiological and normative compatibility, without which economic mechanisms lose stability and predictability.
The author’s concept of axiological pluralism is particularly relevant to political economy. Economic institutions—markets, welfare systems, taxation regimes, and labor regulations—function effectively only within a shared normative horizon that defines obligations, trust, legality, and reciprocity. Dupkala convincingly argues that when immigration introdu-ces value systems with fundamentally different conceptions of law, authority, work, gender roles, and social responsibility, economic integration becomes structurally problematic rather than merely inefficient.
A key insight of the book, from an economic standpoint, is the reco-gnition that welfare states are not value-neutral distribution mechanisms. They are historically contingent institutional arrangements grounded in specific moral assumptions: individual responsibility, solidarity, rule compliance, and social trust. Dupkala’s analysis suggests that large-scale immigration from axiologically incommensurable cultures may place sustained pressure on these assumptions, thereby affecting fiscal sustaina-bility, social cohesion, and incentive structures within European econo-mies.
Although the author does not engage directly in quantitative economic analysis, this should not be viewed as a limitation. On the contrary, Dup-kala exposes a fundamental blind spot in mainstream economic modeling: the tendency to assume cultural homogeneity or rapid normative conver-gence. His work highlights that economic indicators alone—employment rates, GDP growth, or net fiscal contributions—cannot fully capture the long-term costs and risks associated with failed normative integration.
From the perspective of institutional economics, the book offers an important reminder that institutions depend on informal norms as much as on formal rules. Legal frameworks regulating labor markets, social bene-fits, and taxation presuppose compliance that cannot be enforced solely through coercion. Dupkala’s discussion of tolerance and normative boun-daries indirectly underscores the economic importance of rule internali-zation, without which transaction costs rise and institutional efficiency declines.
The analysis is also relevant to debates on economic security and sustainability. By framing immigration as a civilizational and normative challenge, Dupkala broadens the concept of economic security beyond short-term labor market needs. He implicitly questions whether policies driven exclusively by demographic or economic imperatives risk under-mining the long-term institutional foundations upon which European eco-nomic prosperity depends.
In the context of European integration, the book provides a valuable corrective to technocratic economic optimism. Dupkala shows that eco-nomic integration without normative cohesion may generate asymmetric adaptation, where host societies bear disproportionate adjustment costs. This perspective is especially pertinent in discussions of redistribution, social policy harmonization, and intra-European solidarity.
In conclusion, Next Europe in the Context of Immigration offers an important contribution to political economy and institutional economics, even though it does not present itself as an economic treatise. Its strength lies in demonstrating that economic outcomes are inseparable from axiological structures and cultural assumptions. For economists, policy ana-lysts, and scholars of European economic governance, Dupkala’s work serves as a rigorous reminder that sustainable economic systems require not only resources and incentives, but also shared norms and values.
The book is therefore highly recommended to readers interested in migration economics, welfare state sustainability, institutional resilience, and the normative foundations of European economic order.