What Kind of Europe? / Edition 1

by Loukas Tsoukalis

Overview

As the European Union moves towards enlargement, What Kind of Europe? pinpoints the crucial issues which will shape its future as a regional, economic, and political entity. Loukas Tsoukalis is one of the world's leading scholars on European integration; in this book he writes for any reader interested in the key democratic choices facing Europe's citizens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199279487
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/02/2005
Edition description:	Updated and Expanded Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute, Florence

Table of Contents

List of GraphsList of TablesPreface1. What Kind of EuropePart 1: Taking Stock2. The Gap Between Politics and Economics - Or Perception and Realit3. Winners and Losers4. ... and the Rest of the World - Americans and OthersPart 2: The Main Challenges Ahead5. Economic Governance and Models of Capitalism6. EMU: A Unifying Factor7. Extending Pax EuropaPart 3: Conclusions8. What is at Stake? Select Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"Extremely well-written, this book touches lightly and deftly on many of the internal and external pressure building as the EU proceeds along its path to an unknown destination. Thus, it is a book to be recommended to the general reader who does not wish to become enmeshed in the exquisite minutiae of EU history and policy. An excellent overview of the main economic policies of the EU—not in great detail, but sketching their origins and major evolutions. They contain a highly readable account of the EU's historical development that will be very informative for general readers. The exposition is complemented by a wealth of statistical data, intelligently presented, which lays out the broad economic trends of the past fifty years."—Political Science Quarterly

"This is not just one more book on the theory of European integration, nor a specialized study of the intricacies of E.U. governance and policymaking. It is, quite simply, the most readable, comprehensive and balanced account yet of an extraordinary experiment in interstate cooperation."—Foreign Affairs

"Loukas Tsoukalis... is an EU insider par excellence. He has managed to write a book about the European Union which takes on big questions and writes about them in clear and lively language.... all sides in the argument about the future of the European Union would profit from reading his book, which manages to summarise old arguments in a succinct and accessible way, while also introducing stimulating new ideas to the debate."—The Economist

From the Publisher

This is not just one more book on the theory of European integration, nor a specialized study of the intricacies of EU governance and policymaking. It is, quite simply, the most readable, comprehensive, and balanced account yet of an extraordinary experiment in interstate cooperation that tries, sometimes rather acrobatically, to reconcile democracy and bureaucratic management, old nation-states and a sovereignty-restricting superstructure, and interdependence (in economic and monetary matters) and independence (in diplomatic and strategic ones). Tsoukalis, a professor of European organization at the University of Athens, provides a shrewd assessment of what has been accomplished so far in the realms of policy and institutions: a "political system without a state," built by an "elite-driven process," in which democracy and legitimacy are still mostly indirect. He discusses the winners and losers (redistribution has been limited, capital has fared better than labor), relations with the rest of the world (the "privileged partners," the difficulties of a common foreign policy), and the bewildering diversity of rules for common policies, of which "an economist from Mars would find ... hard to make any sense." He also provides a view of European monetary union ("the final and irrevocable confirmation of the reality ... of a unified European economy") and describes the troubles of enlargement ("a difficult product for politicians to sell to their electorates in the member countries," and in some applicant countries as well). Tsoukalis' conclusion notes the difficult tension between democracy and interdependence, the obstacles to building the EU into a global power, and the need for Europeans tobecome "more aware of the choices [these tasks] imply." He unfortunately does not fully cover the disturbing rift between the United States and several EU powers or the divisiveness caused by the Bush administration's policies in Iraq, but these are the only gaps in an admirable piece of work.

Foreign Affairs