European Union in the Global Context explores the interplay between the state and state sovereignty, nationalism, European integration and globalisation. It provides essential foundations in these areas, while using stimulating arguments to prompt discussion and provoke interest in the relationships between these processes. It critically analyses the challenges faced by the EU from the contemporary political and economic dynamics of globalisation (IPE), including trading relationships set through the WTO and bilateral relations with emerging markets, especially the BRICS economies.
Likewise, pressures from within, such as a resurgence of nationalism, localisation, anti-austerity politics, and Euroscepticism, are examined. While the Union is fundamentally challenged by pressures from above and below, and by its own internal dysfunction, it remains central to the effective management of the international political economy.
European Union in the Global Context is a lively, focused and engaging text, incorporating anecdotes and contemporary arguments, and presenting different perspectives on European integration and globalisation. It will be of key interest to students of European Politics, European Studies, European Union Studies, and more broadly, global political economy, foreign and security policy and international relations.
PART I: European Union and nationalism
1 Europe’s history – the background to European integration
2 The state, sovereignty, and nationalism
3 Nationalism in Europe
PART II: European Union: Theory, process, and implementation
4 Integration theory, the European Union, and the state
5 European Union institutions and the state
6 EU governance and policymaking
7 International relations theory, the state, and the EU
PART III:European Union and contemporary economic globalisation
8 Enlargement: History, achievements, and the EU neighbourhood
9 EU as a global actor: Foreign, security, and defence policy
10 Policing, justice, migration, and internal security
11 Globalisation, the single market, trade, and EU social policy
PART IV: European Union and perpetual crisis
12 Economic and Monetary Union: Power, unity, discord
13 Democratic deficit, Euroscepticism, populism, and contested values
14 Sustainability and environmental policy, agriculture, fisheries, energy
15 Europe, the state, and globalisation
Glossary
Index
Biography
Dr Simon Sweeney is a Reader in International Political Economy in the School for Business and Society at the University of York (UK). He is an experienced writer, and author of Europe, the State and Globalisation (Pearson Education, 2005). He has an extensive knowledge of EU literature, comprising EU history and development, institutional characteristics, policymaking, including foreign and security interests and 20 years’ experience of teaching EU and European politics at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
“European Union in the Global Context is an expert overview of its subject. This new edition of the book is a completely updated and refined version of the previous edition, including significant updates to the scholarship and empirical materials. The revised volume is wide-ranging in its coverage of European foreign affairs and is one of the most accessible yet advanced introductions to European global politics and globalisation currently available on the market. The focus on the historical background, key theories, policies, institutions, interests, and key scholarly debates is excellent. Finally, the book analyses the future of European integration in a global context and the role of the EU as an international actor. European Union in the Global Context is a comprehensive treatment of its subject and should be widely read by subject specialists, students of politics and international relations, practitioners, journalists, and the interested lay leader.”
Dr Neil Winn, Senior Lecturer in European Studies, University of Leeds, UK
“Simon Sweeney’s latest book, Europe in the Global Context covers the topic of European integration, the Europes that preceded it and the different imaginaries of Europe from the widest possible angle. The breadth of the history and politics of this oeuvre makes it a reference for every student of European integration. The depth of the analysis should turn the book into a prime candidate for becoming a seminal work on our understanding of Europe.”
Professor Thomas Hoerber, Jean Monnet Chair for European Studies, ESSCA – School of Management, Angers, France
“The highly successful first edition of Simon Sweeney’s Europe, the State and Globalisation is expanded and updated substantially in this second edition. His excellent text combines a deep understanding of core concepts of European politics with chapters on its ever expanding policy processes. In the new edition, Sweeney critically assesses the return of war, conflict and disintegration to Europe by focusing considerably on the impact of the Russian war on Ukraine, and Brexit. In contrast to many other books on Europe, Sweeney critically exposes the weaknesses of European integration without diminishing its achievements. In this tour de force of erudite contextualised knowledge, one can find also chapters on the polycrises of the European Union, in immigration crisis, Economic and Monetary Union, external security, and energy. European Union in the Global Context is an outstanding introduction to European politics in a globalised world. As such it is essential reading for scholars and students dealing with Europe.”
Professor José Magone, Professor in Regional and Global Governance, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
