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With a focus on governmental institutions, this book explores the ways in which EU membership has altered the balance of power among key political actors. The authors discuss cultural adaptation to integration, as well as examining the views of the elite and voters. The transformation in national identity, sovereignty and neutrality are also examined.
In 1999 the EU decided to develop its own military capacities for crisis management. This book brings together a group of experts to examine the consequences of this decision on Nordic policy establishments, as well as to shed new light on the defence and security issues that matter for Europe as a whole.
A common basis for the project on which this volume is based is that one cannot understand religion and ethics without paying attention to the different contexts in, and by means of which, these cultural elements are expressed. This approach makes both religion and ethics liquid, and allows us to see them as based on specific contingencies rather than as expressions of some essential features. The changing societal and cultural conditions in late modern Western societies pose new challenges for established religion, theology and ethics: Not only does religion itself appear to be in some kind of crisis, but also many of the established ways of understanding and doing religion, theology and et...
"Because of both history and geography, the Finnish relationship with Russia is unique in Europe. At the same time the Finnish perception of Russia as a source of security challenges is acute. Finland is engaged in a debate over whether it would be desirable to seek membership of NATO in order to mitigate these challenges. A full and frank debate has been difficult because it is constrained by a range of political and societal taboos; nevertheless there are indicators that a move toward NATO is not impossible in the foreseeable future. If Finland were to opt for joining NATO, this would register in Russian defence and security thinking as a serious concern. Unlike the Baltic accession in 200...
The European project has, within only 52 years, achieved a surprising momentum, and the European Union is now approaching full statehood. The Convention on the Future of Europe has finished its work and handed over a proposal for a constitutional treaty to the Heads of State and Government of the EU. It is therefore the ideal time to present an integrated analysis of what appears to be the emerging European State. This key volume therefore discusses the central questions and concepts within the field of European studies, which include federalism, the relationship between statehood and constitution, integration and constitution, the regions in the 'new' Europe and the EU as an international actor. These discussions are then developed and analyzed in relation to the draft constitution. Timely and insightful, the volume is suitable for courses on European integration, federalism and international politics.
First published in 1998, this volume asked the question, what is Europe?. What is Finland’s position in Europe?. The author tries to give an answer to these questions by defining first Europe in terms of its key political traditions and then locating Finland into this map of historical ideas. The ultimate purpose of this analysis of historical ideas is very pragmatic as it tries to find an answer to the core problems of European unification. Why are different European countries at differing levels of readiness as far as the project of unification is concerned?. The answer can be found again in political traditions.
European Union Enlargement provides a comparative analysis of the post-war European policies of those states that joined the European Union between 1973 and 1995. The volume draws upon new empirical research in order to investigate the policies that these 'newcomer' states have had towards Europe since 1945, with an emphasis on their experience of membership and its possible Europeanising effect. A final comparative chapter draws the national European policies of the 'newcomers' together and outlines what they have brought to the EU. The book also tests integration theories against the available evidence, demonstrating their limited explanatory value and the economic, political and cultural specificity of different national paths towards EU integration.
The European project has, within only 52 years, achieved a surprising momentum, and the European Union is now approaching full statehood. This book presents a timely examination of what appears to be the emerging European State.
Foreign policy begins at home, and in Europe and the United States the domestic drivers of foreign policy are shifting in important ways. The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, the decision of British voters to leave the European Union, and popular pressures on governments of all stripes and colors to deal with the domestic consequences of global flows of people, money and terror all highlight the need for greater understanding of such domestic currents and their respective influence on U.S. and European foreign policies. In this volume, European and American scholars take a closer look at the domestic determinants of foreign policy in the European Union and the United States, with a view to the implications for transatlantic relations. They examine domestic political currents, demographic trends, changing economic prospects, and domestic institutional and personal factors influencing foreign policy on each side of the Atlantic.
This book provides a country-by-country analysis of how European policy is made and applied in the Member States.