European Communities


Book Description

The establishment of the European Economic Community in 1958 was one of the most remarkable developments in the history of the post-World War II era. It aimed for nothing less than a complete economic union so that goods, people, and capital would be able to pass over national boundaries of member countries as freely as they move within any one country. As the Community's target date of 1992 for economic integration draws closer, the need for information, both current and historical, becomes more urgent. The aim of this annotated bibliography is to create a critical and descriptive list of books published mainly in English for businessmen and analysts, combining older publications with new. The literature on the EC is vast and issues The Community itself nearly 3000 publications a year. The range of material covered in this volume is distinguished by its great scope. Historical sections provide listings on the postwar years of economic recovery, the development of the EC, and biographies of the leading personalities involved. Policy-oriented sections encompass such subjects as labor, transportation, environment, energy, and education. The political ramifications of economic union, financial and fiscal affairs, relations between the EC and the Third World, and foreign relations in general are dealt with in separate sections. The volume concludes with a listing of major European Community publications. The sheer bulk of published material on the EC, much of it duplication, has made keeping up with its developments difficult for small and medium in Europe and elsewhere. This invaluable sourcebook will provide the business community and the political establishments with better access to EC information as they grapple with the implications of 1992.




The Legitimacy of Regional Integration in Europe and the Americas


Book Description

Based on cutting-edge research, this edited volume examines how citizens and political elites perceive the legitimacy of regional integration in Europe and the Americas. It analyses public opinion and political discourse on the EU, NAFTA and MERCOSUR, arguing that legitimation patterns shape the development of regional governance.







Regions and Powers


Book Description

This book develops the idea that since decolonisation, regional patterns of security have become more prominent in international politics. The authors combine an operational theory of regional security with an empirical application across the whole of the international system. Individual chapters cover Africa, the Balkans, CIS Europe, East Asia, EU Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, and South Asia. The main focus is on the post-Cold War period, but the history of each regional security complex is traced back to its beginnings. By relating the regional dynamics of security to current debates about the global power structure, the authors unfold a distinctive interpretation of post-Cold War international security, avoiding both the extreme oversimplifications of the unipolar view, and the extreme deterritorialisations of many globalist visions of a new world disorder. Their framework brings out the radical diversity of security dynamics in different parts of the world.




Directory of European political scientists


Book Description




Regional Interests and Regional Actors


Book Description

The question of how to organize and manage sustainable regional development has recently come to the fore in many places across the industrialized countries of Central and Western Europe, and especially within the European Union (EU). This book looks at the home-grown natural, economic and social, socio-political, political and administrative conditions which policy makers face, while also being subjected to numerous external influences. Political actors in less important EU regions attempt to create and implement strategies of regional development in the context of regional policy-making by EU institutions, national governments and the globalization process.




Local and Regional Development


Book Description

Local and regional development is an increasingly global issue. For localities and regions, the challenge of enhancing prosperity, improving wellbeing and increasing living standards has become acute for localities and regions formerly considered discrete parts of the ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ worlds. Amid concern over the definitions and sustainability of ‘development’, a spectre has emerged of deepened unevenness and sharpened inequalities in the development prospects for particular social groups and territories. Local and Regional Development engages and addresses the key questions: what are the principles and values that shape definitions and strategies of local and regional development? What are the conceptual and theoretical frameworks capable of understanding and interpreting local and regional development? What are the main policy interventions and instruments? How do localities and regions attempt to effect development in practice? What kinds of local and regional development should we be pursuing? This book addresses the fundamental issues of ‘what kind of local and regional development and for whom?’, frameworks of understanding, and instruments and policies. It outlines what a holistic, progressive and sustainable local and regional development might constitute before reflecting on its limits and political renewal. With the growing international importance of local and regional development, this book is an essential student purchase, illustrated throughout with maps, figures and case studies from Asia, Europe, and Central and North America.




Regional Governance in the EU


Book Description

The role of regions in the European Union has been frequently debated since the 1980s. This comprehensive book provides a thorough overview of the issue from a variety of perspectives, analysing regional governance and territorial dynamics in the EU and its member states. Focusing on the implications of the democratisation–regionalisation nexus, it argues that a ‘Europe with the regions’ may promote good governance and ameliorate the democratic deficits of the EU.




Stateless Nations


Book Description

Why are regional nationalisms threatening the old nations? This book explores examples such as why Scotland might become independent, why Wales wants more autonomy, and why Catalonia emphasizes its distinctive language and institutions but does not want separation from Spain. Stateless Nations explores the historical roots of modern nationalisms.