Europe S Experimental Union

Europe's Experimental Union challenges conventional writings on European integration by situating the analysis of the EU in the context of changing patterns of political and economic order. The authors conclude that the union is not evolving towards a federal superstate, but rather, is an arena of deep economic integration governed by a prismatic polity characterised by innovation, experimentation, pragmatism, decentralisation and devolution. Although it may seem unsettleed, this book reveals that in fact the experimental nature of the EU enablwes it to respond to multiple agendas and Europe's diversity in a flexible manner.

The European Union faces a set of inter-related crises that it struggles to contain and address. By exploring how the EU responds to crises and conflict, this volume addresses both its resilience and vulnerability. The EU faces significant challenges: European integration is increasingly politicised; democratic politics within member states are increasingly volatile; challenger parties threaten the status quo; and party systems are shifting throughout Europe. These crises test both the EU and individual states, especially those that had to exchange interdependence in the Union for dependence on the Troika. Despite the tension of hard times, this volume points to patterns of continuity and change as the single market, somewhat side-lined and forgotten in the heat of crises, retains its role as the hard core of the Union and the EU’s most significant achievement. This book was originally published as a special issue of West European Politics.

Policy Experiments, Failures and Innovations takes a policy studies perspective in considering post-communist EU member states’ experiences since accession. The book analyses policy transfer processes and expands the new and growing sub-field of policy failure by interrogating the binary ideas of ‘failure’ and ‘success’ in the context of the Central Eastern European (CEE) transition, democratic consolidation and European Union membership.

In the sweep of human history, the European Union stands out as one of humankind's most ambitious endeavours. It encompasses half a billion people, twenty-seven member states, twenty-three languages, and an economy valued at over $15 trillion. Modern Europe's stunning achievements aside, its sovereign debt crisis has shaken the world's largest political and economic union to its core. Can the federal institutions and shared values of Europeans meet the challenges of debt crisis that are as much political as economic? Or, are Europe's current woes indicative of a series of deep structural faults that foreshadow the breakup and failure of the European Union? In this edition of the Munk Debates -- Canada's premier international debate series -- former EU Commissioner Lord Peter Mandelson and EU parliament co-president of the Greens/European Free Alliance Group Daniel Cohn-Bendit, German publisher-editor and author Josef Joffe, and renowned economic historian Niall Ferguson debate the future of the EU -- one of the most pressing global issues of our day. For the first time ever, this electrifying debate, which played to a sold-out audience, is now available in print, along with candid interviews with Niall Ferguson and Lord Peter Mandelson. As youth unemployment rates flare, currencies collapse, and political alliances erode, the Munk Debate on Europe tries to answer: Has the great European experiment failed?

A clear, analytical and balanced guide to the euro experiment and subsequent crisis that will appeal to a wide readership.

The European Union_the world's greatest experiment in interstate reconciliation through regional integration_is now fifty years old. However, it remains a mystery to many people in and outside Europe. This clear and comprehensive book is dedicated to 'demystifying' the EU for both introductory and seasoned students of European integration. Roy H. Ginsberg begins with the foundation blocks of history, law, economics, and politics to provide the context for understanding integration. He then deconstructs the EU into its individual elements to examine them in relation to one another and to the whole before reconstructing the EU as a single polity. In doing so, he evaluates the EU's scope for agency and its effects on Europeans and non-Europeans alike. Emphasizing this wider perspective, Ginsberg convincingly demonstrates that the EU is a wellspring of support for conflict prevention and resolution throughout the world.

The European Union is going through the process of a 'second founding, ' while simultaneously changing its rationale. The original founding of European integration in 1957 was based on the notion of internal reconciliation among European states and societies. Since the 1990s, European integration has increasingly become a political project, with implications for the internal structure of its Member States and their societies. At the same time, with the end of the Cold War, the rational of European integration has begun to change: European integration is about a new global role of Europe, its contribution to the management of global affairs, and its ability to cope with the effects of globalization on Europe. Inside the EU, the second founding is about a new contract between political elites and the people of Europe, in order to solidify legitimacy and effectiveness for this unique experiment in European history. This revised second edition - which is a broadly structured study of the first 50 years on European integration - takes into account the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon that came into effect on December 1, 2009

Here is the story of the European Union by one of its leading thinkers. Andrew Duff describes how the EU was born at a time when federalism was seen as the only way to lasting peace, but how continuing tension between federalists and nationalists has left the Union unable to fulfil its promise. The author argues that the rise of impressive institutions such as the European Parliament, Bank and Court has not been matched by the emergence of a capable democratic executive: so the problem of weak governance at the European level must be rectified if the risk of illegitimacy is not to grow. In his career as a noted politician and commentator, Andrew Duff has worked towards the goal of federal union. He regrets Brexit but is not surprised by it, and argues that if the remaining EU makes a success of the federal experiment, the British may in due time be back.