What Kind of Europe?
Published on 29. May 2003
Book
Hardback
250 pages
978-0-19-926666-1 (ISBN)
Description
As the European Union gets ready to take it's new members, 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 facing Europe's citizens.
European integration is not a politically neutral process. There are key democratic choices to be made about trade-offs between efficiency, equity, and stability; productivity and a cleaner environment; integration and diversity; rule by experts and elected representatives in the management of the single market and the Euro; the degree and kind of solidarity across boundaries; the geographical limits of Europe's fledgling common identity; the export of peace and stability to the near abroad and beyond; and the defence of common values and interests in a world where the ascendancy of markets and the highly unequal distribution of political power increasingly challenge those features that still make Europe distinct from other regions of the world.
There is certain to be disagreement on these issues, by the very nature of democracy. But Europeans need to become more aware of the issues and the choices they imply. Europeans have long pretended that inter-country divisions are the only ones that really count, and that the choice is essentially between more or less Europe. But the agenda must now be to build a politically mature Europe. What kind of Europe becomes the key question.
European integration is not a politically neutral process. There are key democratic choices to be made about trade-offs between efficiency, equity, and stability; productivity and a cleaner environment; integration and diversity; rule by experts and elected representatives in the management of the single market and the Euro; the degree and kind of solidarity across boundaries; the geographical limits of Europe's fledgling common identity; the export of peace and stability to the near abroad and beyond; and the defence of common values and interests in a world where the ascendancy of markets and the highly unequal distribution of political power increasingly challenge those features that still make Europe distinct from other regions of the world.
There is certain to be disagreement on these issues, by the very nature of democracy. But Europeans need to become more aware of the issues and the choices they imply. Europeans have long pretended that inter-country divisions are the only ones that really count, and that the choice is essentially between more or less Europe. But the agenda must now be to build a politically mature Europe. What kind of Europe becomes the key question.
Reviews / Votes
What Kind of Europe? represents an interesting mosaic of the most important themes that today compose the complex process of European integration ... includes up-to-date data and many user-friendly graphs ... Tsoukalis's work raises interesting questions and provides an important blueprint for further integration. It is thought provoking and carefully crafted. As such I recommend it to all those, whether academics, students, or simple citizens, who are concerned with European issues. It is definitely good value for money. * Environment and Planning * Tsoukalis makes a compelling case that a lively debate about Europe is needed ... With a velvet glove and a nuanced study, Tsoukalis wields an effective hammer. * International Herald Tribune * [Tsoukalis's] work poses important, even awkward questions about Europe's future, questions too rarely and obliquely asked of the EU ... He is far from being the first author to ask such important and some times obvious questions, but he does so effectively and with style. * International Herald Tribune * Tsoukalis, a noted expert on European matters, has performed an admirable service with this medium-length text that is substantively fulfilling and can appeal to the non- specialist. * International Herald Tribune * 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 * ... 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 ... an admirable piece of work. * Foreign Affairs * This is surely the best book on the state of the European Union at its present stage of development... Unusually for a book of such academic quality, it caters also for the general reader... * Journal of Common Market Studies *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Scholars and students of the European Union, especially those interested in European internal and external policy, the European economy, European identity, and International Relations, readers interested in the future of Europe, and the issues and choices facing Europeans
Illustrations
13 figures and 1 table
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
546 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-926666-1 (9780199266661)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Loukas Tsoukalis
What Kind of Europe?
Book
03/2005
Oxford University Press
€66.10
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Loukas Tsoukalis, Jean Monnet Professor of European Organization at the University of Athens; Professorial Fellow in the Pierre Werner Chair, Robert Schuman Centre, European University Institute, Florence; President of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Content
List of Graphs ; List of Tables ; Preface ; 1. What Kind of Europe ; PART 1: TAKING STOCK ; 2. The Gap Between Politics and Economics - Or Perception and Realit ; 3. Winners and Losers ; 4. ... and the Rest of the World - Americans and Others ; PART 2: THE MAIN CHALLENGES AHEAD ; 5. Economic Governance and Models of Capitalism ; 6. EMU: A Unifying Factor ; 7. Extending Pax Europa ; PART 3: CONCLUSIONS ; 8. What is at Stake? ; Select Bibliography