A fascinating insight into how regional organizations in Europe and East Asia are currently grappling with a striking number of essentially similar challenges. This issue-based overview of political integration focuses on the differences and similarities in regional integration levels and processes in the two regions, to examine how the long-term future, role and impact of organizations such as the EU and ASEAN may depend heavily on how well they deal with complex and conflict-laden issues in the next few years. This volume analyzes the historical development, current state and prospective future evolution of political integration in the two regions. These leading authors identify key variables that account for the contrasting political integration levels, clearly demonstrating and explaining why the rhythm of integration in both regions varies. With contributions from both Asian and European scholars on each topic, this book delivers: comparative rather than a single region focus breakdowns of regional integration into key issue areas analysis of monetary cooperation and integration incisive assessments of institutional reform key topics of enlargement, including: identity, distributional equity, the distribution of power and effectiveness or decision-making efficiency discussion of regional and international security crises expert scholarship from both European and Asian perspectives This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of IPE, international relations, political science, contemporary history and European studies and Asian studies.

This book examines the Franco-German relationship in the EU in relation to different policy sectors. It assesses the nature and importance of the relationship for the policy process.

A fascinating insight into how regional organizations in Europe and East Asia are currently grappling with a striking number of essentially similar challenges. This issue-based overview of political integration focuses on the differences and similarities in regional integration levels and processes in the two regions, to examine how the long-term future, role and impact of organizations such as the EU and ASEAN may depend heavily on how well they deal with complex and conflict-laden issues in the next few years. This volume analyzes the historical development, current state and prospective future evolution of political integration in the two regions. These leading authors identify key variables that account for the contrasting political integration levels, clearly demonstrating and explaining why the rhythm of integration in both regions varies. With contributions from both Asian and European scholars on each topic, this book delivers: comparative rather than a single region focus breakdowns of regional integration into key issue areas analysis of monetary cooperation and integration incisive assessments of institutional reform key topics of enlargement, including: identity, distributional equity, the distribution of power and effectiveness or decision-making efficiency discussion of regional and international security crises expert scholarship from both European and Asian perspectives This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of IPE, international relations, political science, contemporary history and European studies and Asian studies.

When Germany was unified and the Cold War in Europe ended in 1990, there were numerous predictions that the new Germany would pursue a quite different foreign policy to that which was practised in the old Federal Republic. The new Germany would be less inhibited in the exercise of power and pursuit of its putative national interests, less inclined to support further European integration and less multilateralist. Germany, in short, would become more like a normal Great Power. The contributions to this volume, from scholars and analyses of German foreign policy in Germany, the USA, France, Britain, Poland and Belgium, analyze how and the extent to which German foreign and European policy has changed since German unification. In general, they find that there is greater continuity than change in post-unification German policy. In particular, German foreign policy has retained its strong multilateral orientation - a commitment to developing and preserving strong regional and international organizations and pursuing German interests in and through them.

This new book provides a comprehensive analysis of Europe on the brink of political disintegration. Observers of the European Union (EU) could be forgiven for thinking that it is in a state of permanent crisis. The Union has been beset with high levels of Eurozone debt, Russian intervention and armed conflict in Ukraine, refugees fleeing conflict zones in North Africa and the Middle East, and the decision of Britain to leave the European Union. This text offers a concise and readable assessment of the dynamics, character and consequences of these four crises and the increasingly real possibility of European disintegration. High levels of socio-economic interdependence and institutionalization have failed to result in an ever closer union, and yet the proposed theories of disintegration also fall short. Webber instead shows that it is only by looking at the role of the EU's dominant member, Germany, in each crisis that the potential for an increasingly fragmented Europe becomes clear. Until now, Germany has been the EU's stabilizing force but this is no longer guaranteed. The fate of the integration process will depend on whether other, more inclusive forms of stabilizing leadership may emerge to fill the vacuum created by Berlin's incapacity. This text is the ideal companion for upper undergraduate and postgraduate students of the European Union, as part of degrees in politics, international relations or European studies, or for anyone interested in the crises of the European Union.

This new book provides a comprehensive analysis of Europe on the brink of political disintegration. Observers of the European Union (EU) could be forgiven for thinking that it is in a state of permanent crisis. The Union has been beset with high levels of Eurozone debt, Russian intervention and armed conflict in Ukraine, refugees fleeing conflict zones in North Africa and the Middle East, and the decision of Britain to leave the European Union. This text offers a concise and readable assessment of the dynamics, character and consequences of these four crises and the increasingly real possibility of European disintegration. High levels of socio-economic interdependence and institutionalization have failed to result in an ever closer union, and yet the proposed theories of disintegration also fall short. Webber instead shows that it is only by looking at the role of the EU's dominant member, Germany, in each crisis that the potential for an increasingly fragmented Europe becomes clear. Until now, Germany has been the EU's stabilizing force but this is no longer guaranteed. The fate of the integration process will depend on whether other, more inclusive forms of stabilizing leadership may emerge to fill the vacuum created by Berlin's incapacity. This text is the ideal companion for upper undergraduate and postgraduate students of the European Union, as part of degrees in politics, international relations or European studies, or for anyone interested in the crises of the European Union.