This book traces the emergence of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) from 1955 to 1963 amid the broader reshaping of the institutional architecture of post-war Europe. It considers the ill-fated Free Trade Area (FTA) proposal, the subsequent creation of EFTA, and the resulting division of Western Europe into two distinct trading blocs. At its core, the book provides an international history of a formative moment of post-war and European integration history, and explores the intense technical discussions among European states as they grappled with the prospect of deeper economic and political unity. It thus provides the first detailed analysis combining the FTA and EFTA negotiations, considering both state and non-state actors. Drawing on archives from Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US, as well as the records of the OEEC and EFTA, it examines the decision-making processes of those intimately involved as well as the institutional settings within which they were forced to reconcile their positions. At a key moment of contemporary European friction, the book offers a dialogue between the past and those trying to make sense of events that continue to shape Europe today.

This authoritative volume traces the creation and development of the EEC as an institution and assesses its impact on the economic development of Europe and the policy areas under its control.The book includes a thorough discussion of the background and origins of the European Economic Community. In the early years of post-war Europe, the continuous search for a multilateral commercial agreement resulted in various plans for European commercial cooperation. These schemes were proposed less in a desire for European integration and supranational institutions, than in response to real economic problems and were the precursors to the formation of the EEC. The next section investigates the process of creating the EEC including the road to integration of the major founding members, and the attitude of the United States to European integration. Finally, it discusses the economic development of the EEC since 1957. It explores major themes including the impact of the Community on trade and agriculture and on competition and financial policy, as well as the effects of its own enlargement. The study ends with the steps towards closer union embodied in the Treaty of Maastricht, which signalled the transformation of the European Economic Community into the European Union.

Immanuel Wallerstein and Istvan Meszaros are prolific scholars whose analyses of global capitalism in crisis offer distinctive insights for research across the social sciences. This book engages readers with their main theses, encouraging their application in analysis of social reality and of its institutions of mass education, which aim to prepare workers for the global economy. Using the theoretical lenses offered by these two scholars, Tom G. Griffiths and Robert Imre develop a timely and provocative critique of mass education for this century, challenging readers to contribute to the construction of radical alternatives.

Epic and the Russian Novel from Gogol to Pasternak examines the origin of the nineteen- century Russian novel and challenges the Lukacs-Bakhtin theory of epic. By removing the Russian novel from its European context, the authors reveal that it developed as a means of reconnecting the narrative form with its origins in classical and Christian epic in a way that expressed the Russian desire to renew and restore ancient spirituality. Through this methodology, Griffiths and Rabinowitz dispute Bakhtin's classification of epic as a monophonic and dead genre whose time has passed. Due to its grand themes and cultural centrality, the epic is the form most suited to newcomers or cultural outsiders seeking legitimacy through appropriation of the past. Through readings of Gogol's Dead Souls-a uniquely problematic work, and one which Bakhtin argued was novelistic rather than epic-Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov, Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago, and Tolstoy's War and Peace, this book redefines "epic" and how we understand the sweep of Russian literature as a whole.

Since the end of the World War II, nation states have formed regions to give them some protection from the processes of globalization and internationalization. Against this background, the contributors consider the position of China in the processes of regional competitive interdependency. This book offers analysis at three levels: internal, regional, and global. Chapters consider China's position in regional post-socialist associations such as the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR). Contributors discuss how membership in these regional bodies is likely to enhance China's economic power, strategic position, and political importance. A major theme addressed is whether these new powers will become complementary to the American-led economic core countries or evolve as countervailing powers. Contributors suggest that linkages favored by China's regional associations are more 'network' based and informal in character. They are more in keeping with regionalization rather than regional blocs such as the European Union, which have 'locked in' members to market-driven institutions. Thus, these new developments move away from a neo-liberal market perspective and satisfy the needs of members to retain their economic and political sovereignty. This book considers whether these new regional blocs led by China will perform a 'transformative' process for the international order or become an alternative-supplementary to, but not replacing, the existing institutions of the North. An important topic is the relationship of Russia and China to the Central Asian countries of the former USSR and the interaction between the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union and the Chinese initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt. There is potential for the evolution of an alliance between China and Russia against the neo-liberal order led by the USA. Concurrently, they bring out possible the tensions between Russia's and China's conflicting interests over influence in Central Asia. Reactions to China's rise include the Trump administration's movement from a multilateral to a bi-lateral trade policy and the threat of discriminatory tariffs for China. The contributors seek to promote a better appreciation of China's role in regional associations, and the implications of contemporary developments in economic, geo-political, and international political affairs in the 21st century.

'Epic and the Russian Novel from Gogol to Pasternak' examines the origin of the 19th century Russian novel and challenges the Lukacs-Bakhtin theory of epic. By removing the Russian novel from its European context, the authors reveal that it developed as a means of reconnecting the narrative form with its origins in classical and Christian epic in such a way that expressed the Russian desire to renew and restore ancient spirituality. Through this methodology, Griffiths and Rabinowitz dispute Bakhtin's classification of epic as a monophonic and dead genre whose time has passed. The epic, argues Griffiths and Rabinowitz, is about heroes and the epic form itself as well as its durability and its unique contingence on earlier epics. Due to its grand themes and cultural centrality, the epic is the form most suited to newcomers or cultural outsiders seeking legitimacy through appropriation of the past. Through readings of Gogol's 'Dead Souls' - a uniquely problematic work, and one which Bakhtin argued was novelistic rather than epic - Dostoevsky's 'Brothers Karamazov', Pasternak's 'Doctor Zhivago' and Tolstoy's 'War and Peace', this book redefines "epic" and how we understand the sweep of Russian literature as a whole.

On 26 September 1936, deep in the night, the Dutch cabinet took the decision to cut the guilder's link with gold and to devalue its currency. It was the last of the increasingly isolated and beleaguered 'gold bloc' countries to do so, having outlasted Switzerland by less than a day; the last country in Europe in which holders of a currency could exchange it for gold at the rate which had prevailed before the First World War; the last country to leave the gold standard. The reason why the 'Gold Bloc', which in September 1936 comprised only France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, should have hung on so long is something of a puzzle to historians since it has become virtually axiomatic that their recoveries would have begun sooner and proceded more strongly had they cut the link with gold and devalued their currencies much earlier. The fact that the decision not to do so has been seen as perverse, combined with the fact that in order to cope with the consequences of that decision governments chose to adopt deflationary policies to 'correct' the economy, has led historians for a long time to dismiss a whole generation of politicians and their' advisors' as stubborn, conservative and short-sighted. The Keynesian revolution and the long post-war economic boom had consigned them and their ilk to the dustbin of history for ever.

Richard T. Griffiths has been writing about questions of European integration for decades, and this volume gathers the most important of those writings. Topics covered include the early days of the Marshall Plan, the difficulties and opportunities brought by the development of the European Economic Community in the 1970s and '80s, the role of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the emergence of the European Union. Commanding and compelling, the collection serves as a fitting capstone to a long, engaged career.

By presenting a series of intricate analyses of educational phenomena through the theoretical lenses offered by Immanuel Wallerstein and Istvan Meszaros, the book engages readers and helps them to critically analyze their own participation in the global economy, as citizens, policy-makers, and academics or teachers.

In Two Volumes. This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

In Two Volumes. This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.