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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > International institutions > EU & European institutions
The purpose of this book is to provide a guided tour through the theoretical foundations of spatial locations of firms and industries in an evolutionary economic framework. It addresses the issues of how a location of business in geographical space is selected and where economic activity may (re)locate in the future. The analysis is in the context of technological progress, innovation, disequilibrium and endemic uncertainty. Jovanovic raises pertinent questions such as how willing, motivated and able firms (and governments) are to adapt to constantly evolving new opportunities and challenges over time and to experiment and translate these perceptions into profitable actions. How is their 'competitive position' evolving relative to others and changing over time when faced with a stream of constantly arriving new opportunities, threats and obstacles? Considerations are always supported with a plethora of examples and cases from real life. Jovanovic argues that the economy is a complex and constantly adaptive system which is almost always outside equilibrium. Building on this, he suggests that there is an important lacuna in our understanding of evolutionary spatial economics and that there is much space for further multidisciplinary research in this academic and practical area. This book offers an evolutionary and disequilibrium analysis of the subject and makes parallels, where appropriate and possible, among economics, geography, physics, biology and art. It considers key areas in theory, market and production structure, spatial location of domestic and foreign firms, as well as regional policy. In addition, there are references to policy intervention; importance of investment in local social stability, education and training; as well as to uncontrollable variables that are beyond the influence of firms, industries, regions or public authorities. The author offers various evolutionary insights and alternatives to the pure neoclassical equilibrium economic model.
"Although technological innovation is undoubtedly crucial for addressing climate change, low-carbon innovation policies and politics have hardly been studied. This book clearly reveals the promises and pitfalls of European efforts in this field - recommended reading!"-Sebastian Oberthur, Institute for European Studies, Belguim "This compact volume effectively addresses a surprisingly unknown territory in an otherwise well-explored landscape. In doing so, it will provide a useful resource to all who follow the uneven progress of climate and energy policy in the EU context, as well as those who are interested in policies to stimulate technology development more broadly." -Tim Rayner, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia, UK The EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) was aimed at accelerating low-carbon innovation by raising, coordinating and concentrating resources to certain low-carbon technologies. At the ten-year anniversary of the SET-Plan, this book examines why it was adopted and what it has achieved. Using an analytical framework developed to capture the 'politics of innovation', the authors trace the history of the Plan from initiation to implementation, and then explain its development as seen from the perspectives of the EU institutions, member-states, industry, the research community and international technology markets. The concluding chapter discusses lessons and prospects for European low-carbon innovation towards 2030 and beyond. This new work fills a void in the literature on EU climate and energy policies, and will appeal to scholars, students and practitioners in these fields.
As the EU continues its integration process, the concepts of culture and transnational European belonging remain ambivalent, whether in the realm of socio-historical representation or mass politics. Engaging with recent scholarly debates surrounding the formation of collective transnational identities, this collection draws on the latest empirical case studies to explore the meaning and composition of European identity, the mechanisms that create and shape it and the question of whom it includes. Each author pays close attention to the cultural aspects of identity formation, whether manifested in official, institutional articulations, such as symbols, coinage, ceremonies and discursive manifestations, or in the cultures of the everyday, such as through new forms of communication networks, consumption or leisure. Exploring attempts by various actors - institutions, groups, individuals - to create transnational European identities, European Identity and Culture scrutinizes the cultural formations that have either reignited or emerged in often contradictory relations to the EU project, including local, regional and transnational allegiances. A rich, interdisciplinary investigation of the role of culture in the formation of European identity, whether as a central building block to unity or as a formidable obstacle to a common sense of purpose, this book will be of interest to scholars across the social sciences and humanities working on questions of political culture, European integration, citizenship and (trans-) national identity.
This book makes an essential contribution to the debate now opening
up over the future of Europe in the wake of the demise of the
Constitution. Since 1989 much about the European Union has changed,
including the very definition of 'Europe' itself. The EU has
enlarged to 25 countries and the division between Western and
Eastern Europe has disappeared.
This book examines how membership of the European Union has affected life in the ten former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe that are now members of the European Union. It attempts to answer some fundamental questions: Was the reward of EU membership worth the sacrifices made? How have the new member states fared? Has the promise of EU membership, on which so many expectations were based, been realised? Or have the new member states traded a Socialist Commonwealth with Moscow pulling the strings for an over-centralised Brussels bureaucracy that lacks transparency and accountability? How has a shared communist past influenced the countries' post-socialist and post-accession trajectory? How have the populations of post-communist Europe fared? Have some done better than others? Are these divergences confined to the political, economic or social spheres, or to more than one? If there have been disappointments, how have the populations reacted to these? By taking stock of debates within domestic elites, popular opinion, non-governmental organisations, civil society, and external actors, this book seeks to answer these crucial questions.
First published in 1990, Richard Clutterbuck's fascinating analysis of European security confronts the problems of internal European community frontiers and technological aids in combating terrorism and international crime. He looks at what the EC countries have done in the past, describes the technology now becoming available, and makes radical proposals for airport security, fighting drugs, and overcoming the intimidation of witnesses and juries. Above all, he foresees he exciting prospect of the USSR, the USA, and a united Europe co-operating for the first time to overcome the common enemies of terrorism and international crime.
This book traces the positions of national partisan actors towards the development of the European polity in an in-depth comparative analysis covering all member states of the European Union over a period of 60 years. The author examines the approach of the social democratic, radical left, liberal, Christian democratic and radical right party families, eliciting a comprehensive analysis of partisan positions on European integration. Demonstrating that attitudes and programmatic changes towards European integration must be understood both as the product of long-term ideological traditions and domestic opposition or incumbency-seeking strategies, this book examines how far common ideological traditions lead to the emergence of convergent European policies. Based on an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses political science, history and area studies, this book provides background and analysis, and develops theory in an open and accessible style that expands the understanding of party behaviour. Using party programmes and quantitative data, the book reveals considerable cross-family variations regarding the extent to which parties' genetic origins shape partisan responses to Europe. The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, European integration, comparative politics and political parties.
Over the last twenty years, processes of pluralization, differentiation and trans-nationalization in the European Union have arguably challenged the centrality of law to European integration. Yet these developments also present opportunities to investigate new understandings of law triggered by European integration. The contributors to this book revisit one of the first academic projects to conceptualise and study European legal integration - the early 'Integration through Law' School. On this basis, they consider continuities and discontinuities in the underlying social and political landscape which the law is to integrate (the 'object' of integration), the forms and capacities of the law itself (the 'agent' of integration), and the way these two dimensions reflect on each other. Displaying different normative concerns and varied theoretical starting points, all contributors maintain that 'integration through law' remains of enduring significance to the European integration process. The volume provides a valuable reference for scholars in the field of European integration studies and European legal and political theory.
Climate change poses one of the biggest challenges facing humankind. The European Union (EU) has developed into a leader in international climate change politics although it was originally set up as a 'leaderless Europe' in which decision-making powers are spread amongst EU institutional, member state and societal actors. The central aim of this book, which is written by leading experts in the field, is to explain what kind of leadership has been offered by EU institutional, member state and societal actors. Although leadership is the overarching theme of the book, all chapters also address ecological modernisation, policy instruments, and multi-level governance as additional main themes. The book chapters focus on the Commission, European Parliament, European Council and Council of Ministers as well as member states (Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain) and societal actors (businesses and environmental NGOs). Additional chapters analyse the EU as a global actor and the climate change policies of America and China and how they have responded to the EU's ambitions. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of environmental politics, EU politics, comparative politics and international relations as well as to practitioners who deal with EU and/or climate change issues.
This study provides a comprehensive discussion of all aspects of the European Union presence in International Organisations (IOs). The editors seek to explore both the political and institutional implications of the EU's interaction with IOs and the effect of the EU's presence on the functioning of the respective IOs. The result of an international workshop with an outstanding line up of experts, the book discusses a range of issues, including: The Impact of the EU security contributions to IO's such as the OSCE, NATO and the UN, and the EU's role in decision making. The role of EU - US relations in the development of major International Organisations Participation in the Doha Development agenda and the EU's relationship with the WTO The issues of leadership and coherence within and outside the EU The growing international relationship with the African Union and the more troubled supporting role of the Commonwealth. Approaching the EU's international interactions from different theoretical and analytical angles, this work clearly discusses the broad spectrum of issues that surround the evolution and future of the European Union in an international context
This text is the best introduction to the history, institutions, actors, processes and challenges of European Foreign Policy. This 2nd edition has been fully revised and updated to reflect the substantial changes to European Foreign Policy as a result of the Lisbon Treaty and other significant changes in European and global politics. New material for this edition includes:
With clearly illustrated up-to-date case studies, covering major issues such as Egypt, Libya, Iraq and Iran, each chapter includes key questions and suggestions for further reading. As such, An Introduction to European Foreign Policy continues to be essential reading for all students of European and international politics as well as those who wish to become involved in the external relations of the EU.
This text is the best introduction to the history, institutions, actors, processes and challenges of European Foreign Policy. This 2nd edition has been fully revised and updated to reflect the substantial changes to European Foreign Policy as a result of the Lisbon Treaty and other significant changes in European and global politics. New material for this edition includes:
With clearly illustrated up-to-date case studies, covering major issues such as Egypt, Libya, Iraq and Iran, each chapter includes key questions and suggestions for further reading. As such, An Introduction to European Foreign Policy continues to be essential reading for all students of European and international politics as well as those who wish to become involved in the external relations of the EU.
This book explores the EU's relations with its eastern neighbours. Based on extensive original research - including surveys, focus-groups, a study of school essays and in-depth interviews with key people in Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia and in Brussels - it assesses why the EU's initiatives have received limited legitimacy in the neighbourhood. The European Neighbourhood Policy of 2004, and the subsequent Eastern Partnership of 2009 heralded a new form of relations with the EU's neighbours - partnership based on joint ownership and shared values - which would complement if not entirely replace the EU's traditional governance framework used for enlargement. These initiatives have, however, received a mixed response from the EU's eastern neighbours. The book shows how the key elements of partnership have been forged mainly by the EU, rather than jointly, and examines the idea and application of external governance, and how this has been over-prescriptive and confusing.
The rapid proliferation of EU agencies represents one of the most significant changes to the EU's organisational set-up in past decades. At the same time, this development has significantly affected regulatory policy-making in the EU. This volume assembles the most renowned scholars in the field to address the key themes and challenges that agency governance in the EU poses to effective and legitimate policy-making. The first theme addresses the causes and dynamics of the creation and design of regulatory bodies in EU governance, focusing not only on EU agencies but also on alternatives to the agency format, such as regulatory networks. Second, once agencies are established, the book goes on to explore the consequences and trajectories of agency governance. How effective and autonomous are EU agencies? How does EU agency governance transform existing patterns of executive governance in the EU? Third, the book addresses the design of EU agencies as independent, non-majoritarian institutions poses pressing questions with a view to their legitimacy and accountability. The volume appeals to scholars and practitioners interested in the development and transformation of executive governance in the EU. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy.
This edited book examines European external interventions in human security, in order to illustrate the evolution and nature of the European Union as a global political actor. In 2003, the EU deployed its first external mission under the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) with a military force to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Since then it has instigated over 18 civilian and military missions to deal with humanitarian crises all over the world. This book presents a series of eight case studies of external interventions by the EU covering the Balkans, Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Indonesia, to illustrate the nature of the EU as a global actor. Using the concept of human security to assess the effectiveness of these missions in meeting the EU's aim of being a 'force for good in the world', this study addresses two key issues: the need for an empirical assessment of EU foreign and security policies based on EU intervention in conflict and post-conflict situations and the idea of 'human security' and how this is applied in European foreign policy. This book will be of great interest to students of European Security, EU politics, human security, post-conflict reconstruction, and IR in general.
What role does the EU play in WTO trade negotiations? What are the implications for the EU of the expansion of the international trade agenda that has taken place in the last fifteen years? The European Union and Multilateral Trade Governance examines the EU's role in global economic governance and the negotiations of the Doha Round. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the EU's role in the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The empirical study is grounded in a theoretically driven discussion, in order to understand trade politics dynamics in the present international economic system. By providing both conceptual and empirical arguments, the volume provides an innovative perspective on the analysis of the EU as a global economic influence. The European Union and Multilateral Trade Governance will be of interest to students and scholars of European Union politics and international political economy.
This book adopts a historical perspective to explore the tensions between the idea of a European democracy through a European market, and the observations that there are signs of increasing social disintegration, political extremism and populism in the wake of economic integration.
This book discusses the domestic politics of treaty reform in the European Union, from the failed referendums on the Constitutional Treaty held in France and the Netherlands in May-June 2005 to the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in December 2009. The chapters, written by some of the finest scholars in the field of EU/European politics, show how European integration has increasingly become a contested issue in a majority of Member States. Going beyond the view that national governments are the main, if not the sole, driving force in the process of European integration, this book shows that other actors and factors have played a central role in preference formation and inter-state bargaining. These include: political parties, public opinion, the media, presidents, constitutional courts and, more broadly, political systems, ratification hurdles and the general negotiation context.National Politics and European Integration combines empirical analysis and theoretical explanations for one of the most controversial periods in the history of the European Union. This important book will be of great interest for advanced students in EU studies, comparative politics and public policy.
The EU's internal borders have become mostly invisible. Today, external borders are at the centre of controversy about an alleged 'fortress Europe'. Using different theoretical and methodological perspectives this book examines the challenges facing the EU's external borders, including Neighborhood Policy, migration issues and the diffusion of norms and values to other countries. Divided into two parts, the book first presents different theoretical approaches and empirical studies of the EU's external borders, mobility and security issues. It is an invaluable guide to border research within a framework of European Integration and Globalization Studies. The second part of this volume focuses on the analyses of the EU's Neighbourhood Policy, the approach to Eastern Europe and EU energy policy. Expert contributors collaborate to explore debates about migration, the EU as a normative, 'civil' power, energy security and the securitization of borders. Highly relevant and insightful, the text provides a timely assessment of EU borders in an increasingly globalized and integrated European neighbourhood. The EU's Shifting Borders will be of interest to students and scholars of European Union Politics and International Relations.
While the Lisbon treaty was meant to clarify the European Union's role and political identity, it remains a challenge for politicians and decision-makers to define. Rethinking Democracy and the European Union looks at both the concept of the EU as a political system, and analyses the meaning and status of democracy in Europe today. This book draws upon leading scholars and practitioners from the RECON project (Reconstituting Democracy in Europe) to frame and analyse a range of institutional realms and policy fields, including constitutionalisation, representative developments, gender politics, civil society and public sphere, identity, and security and globalisation. Drawing together these strands, the book questions whether EU politics require a new theory of democracy, and evaluates the relationship between union and state, and the possible future of post-national democracy. Lucid and accessible, this book is at the forefront of the intellectual debate over the character of the EU, presenting research, theory and analysis on a critical political issue of our time. Rethinking Democracy and the European Union will be of interest to students and scholars of democracy, European Union politics and international relations.
While the Lisbon treaty was meant to clarify the European Union's role and political identity, it remains a challenge for politicians and decision-makers to define. Rethinking Democracy and the European Union looks at both the concept of the EU as a political system, and analyses the meaning and status of democracy in Europe today. This book draws upon leading scholars and practitioners from the RECON project (Reconstituting Democracy in Europe) to frame and analyse a range of institutional realms and policy fields, including constitutionalisation, representative developments, gender politics, civil society and public sphere, identity, and security and globalisation. Drawing together these strands, the book questions whether EU politics require a new theory of democracy, and evaluates the relationship between union and state, and the possible future of post-national democracy. Lucid and accessible, this book is at the forefront of the intellectual debate over the character of the EU, presenting research, theory and analysis on a critical political issue of our time. Rethinking Democracy and the European Union will be of interest to students and scholars of democracy, European Union politics and international relations.
This book provides a theoretical and historical examination of the speech and deeds of European founders. Using a fresh and innovative approach, this monograph connects political theory with concrete political practices based on empirical evidence, and theorizes the internal process of European reconciliations as it has been experienced by those involved. The book draws upon over 100 interviews, memoirs, autobiographies and essays of elite and grassroot actors across the history of the European Union, from the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1950-2 to the 2010 financial crisis. It introduces the reader to major contemporary Western political thinkers, Hannah Arendt, Jurgen Habermas, Charles Taylor and Paul Ricoeur, and examines how their theories develop the interpretation of political phenomena such as European integration. As one of the first studies of EU memories, this approach opens a unique window of analysis to view the development of the European community, and makes a fascinating contribution to our understanding of the political tradition born of 60 years of European integration. A Political Theory of Identity in European Integration: Memory and Policies will be of strong interest to students and scholars of European politics, contemporary democratic theory and EU studies.
Thoroughly updated, this extensive reference source provides in-depth information on all matters relating to the European Union: the expansion of the EU under the Nice Treaty is covered, and the future of the union is addressed. A glossary of key terms, a statistical survey and a directory section provide a unique guide to the workings of the EU as well as up-to-date contact details of MEPs and other EU officials. Key Features: an up-to date chronology of the EU from 1947 to present an A-Z section contains concise definitions and explanations of organizations, acronyms and terms, and articles on each member state. Comprising over 1,000 entries, terms listed include: the European Convention; the Rapid Reaction Mechanism; the Charter of Fundamental Rights; the Laeken Declaration; enlargement; and immigration policy a series of introductory articles provides an overall view of the policies and activities of the EU. Essay subjects include: defence policies of the EU; the EU economy; the governance, legal and social frameworks of the EU; enlargement; external relations, migration and asylum policy a directory of key names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and internet addresses of all major European Union institutions and their official bodies. This information is supplemented by summaries of important treaties; details of information sources in the EU; and details of EU-level trade and professional associations. Users will also find details of MEPs and the political groups and national parties contributing to the European Parliament a statistical survey gives tables covering: population, employment, agriculture, energy and mining, industry, finance, trade, transport and communications, tourism, health and welfare, and education across the EU. This title will prove valuable to academic and public libraries, politicians and government agencies and the media, as well as to all those in need of accurate and reliable information on the European Union.
This edited volume provides an innovative contribution to the debate on contemporary European geopolitics by tracing some of the new political geographies and geographical imaginations emergent within - and made possible by - the EU's actions in the international arena. Drawing on case studies that range from the Arctic to East Africa, the nine empirical chapters provide a critical geopolitical reading of the ways in which particular places, countries, and regions are brought into the EU's orbit and the ways in which they are made to work for 'EU'rope. The analyses look at how the spaces of 'EU'ropean power and actorness are narrated and created, but also at how 'EU'rope's discursive (and material) strategies of incorporation are differently appropriated by local and regional elites, from the southern shores of the Mediterranean to Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The question of EU border management is a particularly important concern of several contributions, highlighting some of the ways in which the Union's border-work is actively (re)making the European space.
In the year 2000, in Lisbon, the European Union launched an agenda for growth, jobs, sustainability and competiveness with a ten-year target. In 2010, the agenda was re-launched with different specific objectives but with the same final goals. Why do the European Union leaders engage with these ten-year plans? What exactly do they commit to when they do so? Do they learn from the results, or is this a rhetorical exercise that complex organizations need to raise attention to certain issues? This volume is the first-ever systematic study of the Lisbon agenda of the European Union, now called Europe 2020. It explains the rise of the Lisbon agenda as governance architectures and examines its components across time and sectors. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy. |
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