Written by a team of leading experts, "The Palgrave Review of British Politics 2006" provides up-to-date coverage of developments in British government and politics. An indispensable reference book, it covers the entire political year and includes chapters on the constitution, government and administration, the law, Parliament, public policy, devolution, foreign policy, relations with the EU, local government, elections and public opinion, the party system, pressure politics, the media and democracy, plus a statistical appendix.

This short monograph examines the tense relationship between central bank independence and democratic legitimation, which has changed as the European Central Bank (ECB) has been entrusted with new tasks and faced unprecedented challenges. The financial and sovereign debt crisis, in particular, has affected the ECB's position within the Economic and Monetary Union without substantial changes in the Union's legal framework. However, the evolution of an institution primarily obligated to maintain price stability into an actor involved in sustaining financial stability, performing banking supervision and supporting economic policy raises the question of whether the high level of autonomy granted to the ECB is justified with regard to the principle of democracy that demands adequate accountability and control. This book identifies requirements for the democratic legitimation of central bank action in relation to specific tasks. Further, it analyses other scales of independence encountered in EU law in order to allow readers to gain a better conceptual understanding of central bank independence.

Convergence, Cohesion and Integration in the European Union tackles the fundamental theoretical and empirical issues underlying the process of European integration. Two basic arguments underlie the book. The first is that economic convergence in postwar Europe has reduced the disparities between regions and that this has been an important accelerator of the drive for integration. The second is that, in contrast to the situation before 1985 when nation states dominated the move to integration, grass roots pressure has been the dominant force since the Single European Act and the preparation for the single market.

This book analyses the fifteen-year-long strategic partnership between NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The book goes on to address several key questions raised in the year since the inception of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI): Is the initiative a framework for consultation on Gulf and regional security issues? Is it a security initiative or a defensive one? Even more importantly, how was this initiative developed? Was there a mutual eagerness, on the part of NATO or that of the four Gulf States, to develop it? Is it possible for the initiative to be redeveloped and have other dimensions and outlooks in the future? Throughout the book, the author provides a comprehensive understanding and assessment of NATO's policies and their impact on the security of the Arab Gulf region.

Does the EU matter in international security? The authors identify and explain the drivers of and brakes to EU foreign security action, offer methods of assessment to ascertain influence, and conclude that the union has become a niche international security provider that has in turn strengthened EU foreign policy.

This volume is a holistic assessment of six decades of European integration as seen through a gender lens. It features the insights of scholars from nine countries, who analyze new and old barriers to gender equality in all realms of EU activity. The first part of the volume offers a critique of mainstream integration theories and situates women across core institutional settings. It traces women's roles as formal actors, as participants in expert networks, and as creative conceptualizers introducing paradigm-changing frameworks and strategies. It also recognizes women as policy innovators contributing to the larger integration project. In the second part the contributors pay special attention to the development and effects of gender mainstreaming. They explore 'gendering' dynamics and outcomes in EU policy domains, including agriculture, the employment and social policy fields, the research, science and technology sector, and the emergent EU migration and citizenship policy arena.

"Palgrave Advances in European Union Studies" breaks new ground in offering advanced readers an insight into the state of the art in EU studies. It comprises theoretical and empirical essays which deal with how the European Union has been and continues to be studied, providing an invaluable tool for academics, post-graduate students, and advanced undergraduates who are keen to understand this increasingly diverse field of study.

Why does the EU deal with some issues but not others? This is the central question of this book dedicated to agenda-setting processes in the EU. Through a comparison of EU and US policy agendas and the analysis of four case studies in environmental and health policy, this book offers a new understanding of how policy issues come onto the EU agenda.

This book examines the role played by civil nuclear energy in Britain's relationship with Europe between the end of the Second World War and London's first application to join the European Communities. Tracing the development of the British nuclear programme as it emerged as a global leader in constructing the world's first atomic power stations, it analyses how the threat of energy shortages throughout the 1950s presented ministers with a golden opportunity to utilise nuclear cooperation as an instrument to influence the political shape of Europe. Importantly, this book will show how this chance was missed by ministers due to a combination of disorganization and diplomatic pressure, as well as a perennial lack of domestic resources. In so doing, this book joins the long-disconnected historiographies of European integration and nuclear energy to offer a new perspective on both scholarly fields.

The doctrine of supranationalism has been most evident in Europe, but has become increasingly a global tour de force . Supranationalism is the ideological driving force behind the process of European integration and so the European Union, the first supranational regional regime (SRR). But the same doctrine has bequeathed other gifts to the world and to posterity. The EU is evolving as a prominent global player, and as a result appears to have become an inspiration and model for the proliferation of other SRRs and proto-SRRs. However, as SRRs acquire greater power relative to 'traditional' global players such as nation-states, a further state of development has ensued, entailing the creation of supranational global regimes (SGRs), signalled by the progress of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation.

Exploring the development of the European Union, this book examines the ways in which it has been studied over fifty years from the vantage point of four disciplines, each side of the Atlantic, and both academic and practitioner perspectives. Drawing on contributions by some of the world's leading scholars in the field, it maps the past and present of both the EU and EU studies before setting out a provocative agenda for future work in the area.

This book analyses trends and changes in the European Union's (EU) humanitarian aid policy, by focusing on the performance of Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs). NGOs have developed strong relationships with international institutions but have also maintained direct interaction with EU member states. The result is a multi-layered process in which national interests, common values, universal principles and global duties meet and interact. By combining a deepening of the theoretical debate with the use of empirical data on the funding of NGO projects by EU institutions and member states, the book significantly furthers our understanding of the complex relationship between these actors. It will appeal to students and scholars interested in EU politics, global security, and international aid, as well as practitioners in the humanitarian field.

Fiscal Policy and Interest Rates in the European Union is a comprehensive study concerned with the potential effects of fiscal policy on financial markets in the European Union. It takes into account the gradual liberalization of capital movements throughout Western Europe and the institutional framework of the European monetary system. Klaas Knot takes a fresh approach to the impact of budget deficits on interest rates, especially in relation to international financial integration, and concludes that the increases in European budget deficits since the early 1970s have raised interest rates in the long term throughout the Union. In conclusion he argues that balanced budget deficits are necessary to maintain low interest rates. This important new book will be of interest to students, academics and policymakers concerned with monetary and public economics.

This book explores the role of new modes of governance in helping future member states to cope with their accession to the European Union. The authors demonstrate that the accession countries of the Southern and Eastern enlargements have lacked two fundamental preconditions for the emergence and effectiveness of new modes of governance: state and non-state actors with sufficient resources to engage in non-hierarchical coordination to improve the effectiveness of public policy. This 'governance capacity' has been largely taken for granted by the governance literature since it has almost exclusively focused on Western democracies. The double weakness of transition countries results in a serious dilemma for governance research and practice alike - the stronger the need for non-hierarchical modes of governance, the less favourable are the conditions for their emergence and effectiveness.

This succinct survey includes the most important economic policy issues facing European governments and business as they strive to restore growth to the region's flagging economy. Although written mostly in a non technical style, the book contains some of the sharpest analysis available of the economic problems currently facing Europe's policy makers and is essential reading for academic or professional readers interested in European economic development.

From Civilian Power to Superpower? asserts that a new, distinctive and significant actor has entered the international system. The text explores how the European Union has become a significant international actor without transforming itself into a nation-state. The international context, within which the Union now operates, and the instruments, now available at its disposal, have undergone a convergence to create circumstances in which the relative significance of the Union and its uniqueness in the international system has been enhanced.

This book explains the political background and describes the decision-making leading to European Monetary Union, as seen by a former central banker who participated in the process during more than two decades. Political rather than economic considerations were decisive in establishing EMU. French-German relations in particular form a thread that runs through the book, notably French efforts to replace German monetary domination by a form of decision-making France can influence. Thus, the issues involved are issues of power, though often presented in technical terms of economics.

Celebrating the existence of contending theories of European integration, the book begins with a critical exploration of the concepts and theories used to examine this unique policy, presenting theoretically informed, empirical studies of the origin of the key themes of European governance, territorial politics, domestic-European linkages and the EU's foreign policy affairs.

Experts present their analyses of historical developments as well as new economic challenges for the European Union. Contributors, representatives from major banks and academia, point out the dramatic economic shifts among and within Europe, Asia, and the United States. At the bottom line of this EU analysis are major implications for investors, managers, policymakers, and the public at large in both the EU and the rest of the world.

This book is distinguished by its use of the antebellum US experience as a foil to address the under-explored question of what makes the EU viable. The nature of political conflict in both cases is defined in terms of four contested rules of the game: state sovereignty, federal competences, political representation and decision-making procedures. Hence, viabilty is conceptualized as the ability to find an agreement over these four elements.
The analysis shows that, to remain viable, the antebellum USA resorted to an ultimately untenable voluntary centralization of these rules of the game. Conversely, the EU has maintained a dynamic equilibrium, although this is not a self-reinforcing process. The transatlantic contrast is then used to examine proposals for reforming the EU, especially its system of political representation. The comparison reveals that, despite high expectations, changing the system of representation is no shortcut solution for the EU's constitutional woes.

Any legal library would be incomplete without the entire set of this historical reprint. The 15 bound volumes of the judgments, orders and advisory opinions of the PCIJ include the collections of judgments from 1923-1930 (Series A) and advisory opinions from 1923-1930 (Series B), and the collections of judgments, orders and advisory opinions from 1931-1940 (Series A/B). Volume 8 contains advisory opinions in the following cases: Treatment of Polish Nationals and Other Persons of Polish Origin or Speech in the Danzig Territory, Interpretation of the Greco-Bulgarian Agreement of 9 December 1927 and Interpretation of the Convention of 1919 concerning Employment of Women during the Night; judgments in: Free Zones of Upper Savoy and the District of Gex and Interpretation of the Statute of the Memel Territory; and orders in: Interpretation of the Statute of the Memel Territory and Legal Status of the South-Eastern Territory of Greenland.

This volume provides a thorough analysis of Turkey's accession to the EU and contributes to ongoing debates about the future relationship of the two parties. It focuses on political, economic and cultural dimensions and outlines the prospects of this difficult encounter for Turkey and the European Union. It is a highly dynamic encounter and both questions and answers related to the accession seem constantly in flux. The book provides valuable information on the current state of affairs as well as looking to the years to come.

The collapse of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union has resulted in a proliferation of discontented minorities. Preventing the violent conflict triggered by such disaffection has become a driving issue in post-Cold War Europe. National Minorities and the European Nation-States System reveals that the contemporary international system is the root cause of the problem and viable solutions to it must acknowledge this structural limitation.

The European Union can be perceived as an enormous bilateral and multilateral process of internal and external negotiation. This book examines negotiations within member states, between member states, within and between the institutions of the Union and between the EU and other countries. It also analyzed processes, actors and interests. This book is, therefore, a unique probe into the relatively unknown arena of negotiation processes in the European Union.

This book is the first history of the World Food Programme, the food aid arm of the United Nations. It tells the story of the growth of WFP from modest beginings as a three-year experiment in 1963-65 to its current role as the main source of international food aid for both disaster relief and development against the background of the evolution and development of food aid.