Great Britain and European Integration – The Reluctant Nation

Great Britain and European Integration – The Reluctant Nation PDF Author: Ludwig Andert
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640089014
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 18

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,0, University of Sheffield, course: Britishness, Englishness, Otherness, language: English, abstract: This slightly exaggerated statement by the Bolshevik revolutionary, though referring to a soviet-republican idea of Europe, marks the borderlines of British ambivalence towards European integration after 1945: the fear of a supranational federation and the need for a peaceful, stable and free-trading Europe. “I am British. I am not European” – These are the words of a shopkeeper who among a small group of other “metric martyrs” in 2001 refused to attach to the metric system that had been imported to Great Britain.2 This man was not a philosopher, a historian and certainly not a politician, and his fundamental belief did not refer to the Union, the Empire or the Continent, but to himself as an individual. Is Great Britain’s reluctance to join the European Union – or rather: to consider oneself European – based entirely on metaphysical convictions, on emotions and ancient sentiments such as “the Empire”? Or are there reasonable arguments for British refusal of European alliance – economical reasons, considerations of power or even force? Do the British consider themselves part of an “Anglo-American” axis or merely a bridge between Old Europe and the New World? The following text gives an overview of the process of European integration from a British perspective. It will further discuss the difficulties in defining the difference between “British” and “European” as an attempt to answer the question whether the United Kingdom can be European while remaining British at all.

Great Britain and European Integration – The Reluctant Nation

Great Britain and European Integration – The Reluctant Nation PDF Author: Ludwig Andert
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3640089014
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 18

Get Book Here

Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,0, University of Sheffield, course: Britishness, Englishness, Otherness, language: English, abstract: This slightly exaggerated statement by the Bolshevik revolutionary, though referring to a soviet-republican idea of Europe, marks the borderlines of British ambivalence towards European integration after 1945: the fear of a supranational federation and the need for a peaceful, stable and free-trading Europe. “I am British. I am not European” – These are the words of a shopkeeper who among a small group of other “metric martyrs” in 2001 refused to attach to the metric system that had been imported to Great Britain.2 This man was not a philosopher, a historian and certainly not a politician, and his fundamental belief did not refer to the Union, the Empire or the Continent, but to himself as an individual. Is Great Britain’s reluctance to join the European Union – or rather: to consider oneself European – based entirely on metaphysical convictions, on emotions and ancient sentiments such as “the Empire”? Or are there reasonable arguments for British refusal of European alliance – economical reasons, considerations of power or even force? Do the British consider themselves part of an “Anglo-American” axis or merely a bridge between Old Europe and the New World? The following text gives an overview of the process of European integration from a British perspective. It will further discuss the difficulties in defining the difference between “British” and “European” as an attempt to answer the question whether the United Kingdom can be European while remaining British at all.

Reluctant Europeans

Reluctant Europeans PDF Author: David Gowland
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317878590
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
During the past fifty years few issues in British politics have generated such heated controversy as Britain's approach to European integration. Why has Europe had such an explosive impact on British politics? What impelled British policymakers to embrace a European destiny and why did they take such a cautious approach? These are some of the key issues addressed inThe Reluctant Europeans. This new study draws upon recently available source material providing a clear chronological account and covering events right up to Blair's first year in office and the launch of the Euro.

Reluctant European

Reluctant European PDF Author: Stephen Wall
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198840675
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
In 2016, the voters of the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. The majority for 'Leave' was small. Yet, in more than 40 years of EU membership, the British had never been wholeheartedly content. In the 1950s, governments preferred the Commonwealth to the Common Market. In the 1960s, successive Conservative and Labour administrations applied to join the European Community because it was a surprising success, whilst the UK's post-war policies had failed. But the British were turned down by the French. When the UK did join, more than 10 years after first asking, it joined a club whose rules had been made by others and which it did not much like. At one time or another, Labour and Conservative were at war with each other and internally. In 1975, the Labour government held a referendum on whether the UK should stay in. Two thirds of voters decided to do so. But the wounds did not heal. Europe remained 'them', 'not 'us'. The UK was on the front foot in proposing reform and modernisation and on the back foot as other EU members wanted to advance to 'ever closer union'. As a British diplomat from 1968, Stephen Wall observed and participated in these unfolding events and negotiations. He worked for many of the British politicians who wrestled to reconcile the UK's national interest in making a success of our membership with the sceptical, even hostile, strands of opinion in parliament, the press and public opinion. This book tells the story of a relationship rooted in a thousand years of British history, and of our sense of national identity in conflict with our political and economic need for partnership with continental Europe.

Reluctant Europeans

Reluctant Europeans PDF Author: Sieglinde Gstöhl
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ISBN: 9781588260369
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Analysing some 30 policy decisions across three countries and five decades, Sieglinde Gstohl considers why some countries continue to be 'reluctant Europeans' and offers insights into the problems associated with integration in an enlarging EU.

Britain and European Integration Since the Second World War

Britain and European Integration Since the Second World War PDF Author: Sean Greenwood
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Using contemporary documents, this book tells the story of Britain's hesitant moves into Europe. It assesses the debates and controversies surrounding Britain's attitudes to European integration, including the arguments on sovereignty.

Britain and European Integration Since 1945

Britain and European Integration Since 1945 PDF Author: David Gowland
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134354525
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
This book provides both a comprehensive introduction and a perceptive examination of Britain’s relations with the European Community and the European Union since 1945, combining an historical account with political analysis to illustrate the changing and multifaceted nature of British and European politics. Few issues in British politics since 1945 have generated such heated controversy as Britain’s approach to the process of European integration associated with the European Union. The long-running debate on the subject has not only played a major part in the downfall of prime ministers and other leading political figures but has also exposed major fault-lines within governments and caused deep and rancorous divisions within and between the major political parties. This highly contested issue has given rise to bitter campaigning in the press and between pressure groups, and it has bemused, confused and divided the public at large. Key questions addressed include: Why has Europe had such an explosive impact on British politics? What impelled British policymakers to join the European Community and to undertake one of the radical, if not the most radical, changes in modern British history? What have been the perceived advantages and disadvantages of British membership of the European Union? Why has British membership of the European Union rarely attracted a national consensus? Engaging with both academic and public debates about Britain and the European Union, this volume is essential reading for all students of British history, British politics, and European politics.

Brexit

Brexit PDF Author: David Ramiro Troitiño
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319734148
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
While the discussions among Brexiters mainly focus on the referendum of 2016 or David Cameron’s “great miscalculation” and its repercussions, this book looks at the Brexit as a process that began decades earlier. It analyses EU-UK relations from a new perspective, taking into consideration the historical background, political aspects, and legal and economic matters. The book provides a holistic understanding of the Brexit, approaching the referendum and its outcomes as the culmination of a long process rather than an isolated political event crafted within the corridors of Westminster or Downing Street 10. Accordingly, it addresses a range of thematic issues, historical patterns of political and economic behavior both within and beyond the United Kingdom, and possible future effects on relations between the Union and one of its most important members.

Nineteenth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction

Nineteenth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Christopher Harvie
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN: 0192853988
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew's Very Short Introduction to Nineteenth-Century Britain is a sharp but subtle account of remarkable economic and social change and an even more remarkable political stability. Britain in 1789 was overwhelmingly rural, agrarian, multilingual, and almost half Celtic. By 1914, when it faced its greatest test since the defeat of Napoleon, it was largely urban and English. Christopher Harvie and Colin Matthew show the forces behind Britain's rise to its imperial zenith, and the continuing tensions within the nations and classes of the 'union state'. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Brexiternity

Brexiternity PDF Author: Denis MacShane
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1838607846
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Never in the lifetime of most British adults has there been such uncertainty about the future of the political and governing institutions of the state. Brexit has the potential to change everything – from the shape of government institutions, to the main political parties, from Britain's relationship with its near neighbour Ireland to its international trading. The idealists of the Leave campaign won their vote in 2016. But now the realists are gently taking over. Here, Denis MacShane explains how the Brexit process will be long and full of difficulties – arguing that a 'Brexiternity' of negotiations and internal political wrangling in Britain lies ahead.

Germany and the European Union

Germany and the European Union PDF Author: Simon Bulmer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1137404507
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Winner of the UACES Best Book Prize 2020 The jury commented 'It is impossible to study or understand European integration without understanding Germany's role and place in this. This book is therefore a must-read'. This new textbook offers a path-breaking interpretation of the role of the European Union's most important member state: Germany. Analyzing Germany's domestic politics, European policy, relations with partners, and the resultant expressions of power within the EU, the text addresses such key questions as whether Germany is becoming Europe's hegemon, and if Berlin's European policy is being constrained by its internal politics. The authors – both leading scholars in the field – situate these questions in their historical context and bring the subject up to date by considering the centrality of Germany to the liberal order of the EU over the last turbulent decade in relation to events including the Eurozone crisis and the 2017 German federal election. This is the first comprehensive and accessible guide to a fascinating relationship that considers both the German impact on the EU and the EU's impact on Germany. This book is the ideal companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying the European Union or German Politics from the perspectives of disciplines as wide ranging as Politics, European Union Studies, Area Studies, Economics, Business and History. It is also an essential resource for all those studying or practicing EU policy-making and communication.