The State Of European Integration

Against the backdrop of combating the financial and economic crisis in the European Union for the past decade, this volume strives to explore the manifold impacts the prevailing crisis management has on the further alignment of European Integration. The efforts targeted at overcoming the financial and economic crisis evoked far-reaching consequences on the societal, economic, and political level within European member states, which in turn challenge the institutional alignment, democratic legitimacy and economic coherence of the European Union. Taking into account current developments in the EU, the contributions presented in this volume focus on the ‘fault lines’ in the integration process, i.e. questions of policy coherence, democratic accountability, financialization, militarization, migration, gendered social and economic asymmetries as well as the rise of populist and extreme right-wing parties. The volume focuses on how these different developments come together by relating aspects of transdisciplinary research to uncover the fault lines in the European integration project in the subsequent chapters. ContentEconomic and Democratic Governance • Right Wing Populism and Right Extreme Parties • Financialization and Militarization • Social Exclusion, Welfare and Migration Policies EditorsProf. (FH) Dr. Stefanie Wöhl, University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna. Prof. (FH) Dr. Elisabeth Springler, University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna. Mag. Martin Pachel, University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna. Dr. Bernhard Zeilinger, University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienna.

Adapting to European Integration describes how the political institutions in eight small member states and two non-members responded to the internal and external demands springing from the process of European integration in general and EC/EU membership in particular. The study makes a distinction between governmental/administrative adaptation, political adaptation and strategic adaptation. The chapters focus, in the first instance, on the governmental/administrative responses at the level of central government, the organisational adjustments and the changes in institutional capacity to meet the new challenges. The authors also look at the willingness of the political decision-makers to internalise the EC/EU dimension in domestic policy making and the way in which the country's own history as well as the attitude towards European integration facilitate or hinder adaptation and change.

The State of European Integration provides scholars, practitioners, experts and students with a comprehensive account of the state of the European Union today. With contributions from leading scholars including Richard G. Whitman, Meltem Müftüler-Baç, Gülnur Aybet, Leila Simona Talani and Gareth Dale, the book examines the EU in a theoretically informed and empirically grounded manner. Opening with an exploration into the nature of the European Union as an international actor, it then assesses the impact of enlargement on institutions, policies and identity. The contributors investigate issues related to the degree of convergence and cohesion among members, and analyze the economic and monetary state of integration. The volume comes at a timely interval when there is a need to understand the present and future of the European Union.

The contributors to this volume, all leading specialists in the field of EU studies, examine the trajectory of the EU and draw on the theoretical tools of historical institutionalism to assess the central political challenges facing the EU.

This book explores the complex and ever-changing relationship between the European Union and its member states. The recent surge in tension in this relationship has been prompted by the actions of some member state governments as they question fundamental EU values and principles and refuse to implement common decisions seemingly on the basis of narrowly defined national interests. Furthermore, Brexit forces the EU for the first time to face the prospect of a major member state preparing to leave the Union. Are these developments heralding the return of the nation-state, and if so, in what form? Is the national revival a lasting phenomenon that will affect the EU for a long time to come, or is it a transitory trend? This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to answer these questions. It brings together scholars from economics, law, and political science to provide insights into the multifaceted relations between the Union and its member states from different perspectives. All chapters are based on up-to-date research findings, succinct assessments of the current state of affairs and ongoing debates about the direction of European integration. The book concludes by offering policy recommendations at European and national levels.

The European nation state is now placed between the interconnected processes of globalization and European integration. This new book examines these evolving relationships, showing how the conventional territorial basis of the state is being reappraised. Bringing together leading thinkers on the nation state, this volume tackles key questions about how we should conceptualize and discuss the political significance of territory in today’s world. For example, does the era of Europeanization and globalization herald the end of citizens’ traditional attachment to their national territories? Do our conceptions of the state no longer correspond to contemporary political realities? These questions are approached from a range of positions that illuminate the debates now taking place across the world. This book delivers a clear set of key concepts, indicators and theoretical notions to carry out a historically and empirically grounded examination. Drawing upon case studies from across Europe, the lessons and conclusions detailed have a fascinating international scope and can be applied to our understanding of globalization, which is intimately connected with European integration. This is an invaluable book for all students of European integration, political science and international relations.

The sixteenth edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play has a triple ambition. First, it provides easily accessible information to a wide audience about recent developments in both EU and domestic social policymaking. Second, the volume provides a more analytical reading, embedding the key developments of the year 2014 in the most recent academic discourses. Third, the forward-looking perspective of the book aims to provide stakeholders and policymakers with specific tools that allow them to discern new opportunities to influence policymaking. In this 2015 edition of Social policy in the European Union: state of play, the authors tackle the topics of the state of EU politics after the parliamentary elections, the socialisation of the European Semester, methods of political protest, the Juncker investment plan, the EU’s contradictory education investment, the EU’s contested influence on national healthcare reforms, and the neoliberal Trojan Horse of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Member States of the European Union combines geographic and thematic coverage to provide a comprehensive and nuanced overview of the building blocks of the European Union - its member states. The third edition explores the key concepts of statehood and Europeanization, analysing the wide-ranging impact of Europeanization on member state institutions, political parties, social movements, public policy and the European political economy. New coverage includes state responses to the refugee and climate crises and two new chapters dedicated to Bulgaria and Greece. A fully-updated chapter on the United Kingdom illustrates the tensions between Europeanization and member statehood, exploring the implications of the UK's vote to leave the EU. It is the ideal text for all those studying EU Politics with an interest in the member states of the European Union and how they work together.