A Certain Idea of Europe

A Certain Idea of Europe PDF Author: Craig Parsons
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501732080
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
The quasi-federal European Union stands out as the major exception in the thinly institutionalized world of international politics. Something has led Europeans—and only Europeans—beyond the nation-state to a fundamentally new political architecture. Craig Parsons argues in A Certain Idea of Europe that this "something" was a particular set of ideas generated in Western Europe after the Second World War. In Parsons's view, today's European Union reflects the ideological (and perhaps visionary) project of an elite minority. His book traces the progressive victory of this project in France, where the battle over European institutions erupted most divisively. Drawing on archival research and extensive interviews with French policymakers, the author carefully traces a fifty-year conflict between radically different European plans. Only through aggressive leadership did the advocates of a supranational "community" Europe succeed at building the EU and binding their opponents within it. Parsons puts the causal impact of ideas, and their binding effects through institutions, at the center of his book. In so doing he presents a strong logic of "social construction"—a sharp departure from other accounts of EU history that downplay the role of ideas and ideology.

A Certain Idea of Europe

A Certain Idea of Europe PDF Author: Craig Parsons
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501732080
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
The quasi-federal European Union stands out as the major exception in the thinly institutionalized world of international politics. Something has led Europeans—and only Europeans—beyond the nation-state to a fundamentally new political architecture. Craig Parsons argues in A Certain Idea of Europe that this "something" was a particular set of ideas generated in Western Europe after the Second World War. In Parsons's view, today's European Union reflects the ideological (and perhaps visionary) project of an elite minority. His book traces the progressive victory of this project in France, where the battle over European institutions erupted most divisively. Drawing on archival research and extensive interviews with French policymakers, the author carefully traces a fifty-year conflict between radically different European plans. Only through aggressive leadership did the advocates of a supranational "community" Europe succeed at building the EU and binding their opponents within it. Parsons puts the causal impact of ideas, and their binding effects through institutions, at the center of his book. In so doing he presents a strong logic of "social construction"—a sharp departure from other accounts of EU history that downplay the role of ideas and ideology.

The Third Option

The Third Option PDF Author: Charles G. Cogan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313073848
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
It was logical to expect that the European Economic and Monetary Union would lead ineluctably to an autonomous European defense; the very size of the European Union seems to demand it. The EU eventually will reach the point where its economic and demographic weight will far exceed that of the United States. Can it not be expected too that the EU will seek to make this weight felt internationally? Cogan tracks the halting creation of an independent European military structure, a third way between national armies and ATO, since the Iron Curtain's fall. With the Cold War's end and subsequent western engagements in Central and Eastern Europe, it is no longer a question of whether NATO and the EU compare; they now must relate. They have to coordinate their planning and force postures so as to avoid duplication of resources and efforts. Although NATO's integrated command structure theoretically was an anomaly with the end of the Cold War, it nevertheless turned out to be the case in Bosnia, and later Kosovo, that nothing was possible until the Americans intervened. The virtue of integrated command -- American participation and know-how -- was once again seen as crucially important, despite the increasingly anachronistic deficit of sovereignty for Western Europe in defense matters. In the long run, Europe's economic power must be balanced by its military and diplomatic might.

Two Strategies for Europe

Two Strategies for Europe PDF Author: Frédéric Bozo
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 0585382581
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This timely book explores the often stormy French-U.S. relationship and the evolution of the Atlantic Alliance under the presidency of Charles de Gaulle (1958D1969). The first work on this subject to draw on previously inaccessible material from U.S. and French archives, the study offers a comprehensive analysis of Gaullist policies toward NATO and the United States during the 1960s, a period that reached its apogee with de GaulleOs dramatic decision in 1966 to withdraw from NATOOs integrated military arm. This launched the French policy of autonomy within NATO, which has since been adapted without having been abandoned. De GaulleOs policy often has been caricatured by admirers and detractors alike as an expression of nationalism or anti-Americanism. Yet Frederic Bozo argues that although it did reflect the GeneralOs quest for grandeur, it also, and perhaps more important, stemmed from a genuine strategy designed to build an independent Europe and to help overcome the system of blocs. Indeed, the author contends, de GaulleOs actions forced NATO to adapt to new strategic realities. Retracing the different phases of de GaulleOs policies, Bozo provides valuable insight into current French approaches to foreign and security policy, including the recent attempt by President Chirac to redefine and normalize the France-NATO relationship. As the author shows, de GaulleOs legacy remains vigorous as France grapples with European integration, a new role within a reformed NATO, and relations with the United States.

Partners of First Resort

Partners of First Resort PDF Author: David McKean
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815738528
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
" Fostering a transatlantic renaissance to salvage the Western alliance Is the Western alliance, which brought together the United States and Europe after World War II, in an inevitable state of decline, and if so, can anything be done to repair it? There seems little doubt that fragmentation of the Western alliance was under way even before Donald Trump's unorthodox policymaking broadened the schism. Opinions differ as to the next step, however, with some taking the current divisions as a given and advocating the creation of a new group of like-minded democracies that would exclude the United States,while others seek to exploit the rift in hopes of furthering their own nationalistic ambitions for a postliberal world. The authors outline a “transatlantic renaissance,” in which U.S. and European leaders would work together to craft a new Atlantic Charter that would restore the liberal objectives that animated the Western alliance for more than seven decades. Modernizing institutional relationships across the Atlantic should help both the United States and Europe address common challenges jointly and improve burdensharing. The world needs a vibrant and energetic West to protect fundamental values from illiberal forces, both internal and external. "

Security and Strategy in the New Europe

Security and Strategy in the New Europe PDF Author: Colin McInnes
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134889801
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
The thawing of the Cold War has brought new concerns over the nature of European security to the fore and uncovered major differences in the approaches of individual states to changed circumstances. This book clarifies the options for a new European security order and contribute to the growing debate. It adopts a medium-term analytical approach and uses a three-tier format, covering the nature and structure of security and the security implications of Europe's resurgent nationalism; security strategy, with particular reference to the NATO perspective and to the European Community; and the distinctive security concerns of individual states. It looks at both Eastern and Western Europe and at the Soviet Union and it analyses the role of the United States in European security.The thawing of the Cold War has brought new concerns over the nature of European security to the fore and uncovered major differences in the approaches of individual states to changed circumstances.

The Reuniting of Europe

The Reuniting of Europe PDF Author: José I. Torreblanca
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351808443
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
This title was first published in 2001: In 1989, central and Eastern European countries broke free form the Soviet Union and looked upon the European Community to support their 'return to Europe'. Some years later, leaders of the European Community, meeting in Copenhagen in June 1993, endorsed for the first time the membership aspirations of the recently democratized countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This insightful text examines the negotiations, debates, tensions and contradictions behind the process of approximation between the two halves of Europe, both within the EC itself as well as between the EC and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The extensive consultation of unpublished internal documents, and a theoretically relevant and well-written analysis, ensures that this book is an indispensable resource for students and researchers of EC/EU relations with Central and Eastern Europe.

The European Higher Education Area

The European Higher Education Area PDF Author: Adrian Curaj
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319208772
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 906

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Book Description
Bridging the gap between higher education research and policy making was always a challenge, but the recent calls for more evidence-based policies have opened a window of unprecedented opportunity for researchers to bring more contributions to shaping the future of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Encouraged by the success of the 2011 first edition, Romania and Armenia have organised a 2nd edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers’ Conference (FOHE-BPRC) in November 2014, with the support of the Italian Presidency of the European Union and as part of the official EHEA agenda. Reuniting over 170 researchers from more than 30 countries, the event was a forum to debate the trends and challenges faced by higher education today and look at the future of European cooperation in higher education. The research volumes offer unique insights regarding the state of affairs of European higher education and research, as well as forward-looking policy proposals. More than 50 articles focus on essential themes in higher education: Internationalization of higher education; Financing and governance; Excellence and the diversification of missions; Teaching, learning and student engagement; Equity and the social dimension of higher education; Education, research and innovation; Quality assurance, The impacts of the Bologna Process on the EHEA and beyond and Evidence-based policies in higher education. "The Bologna process was launched at a time of great optimism about the future of the European project – to which, of course, the reform of higher education across the continent has made a major contribution. Today, for the present, that optimism has faded as economic troubles have accumulated in the Euro-zone, political tensions have been increased on issues such as immigration and armed conflict has broken out in Ukraine. There is clearly a risk that, against this troubled background, the Bologna process itself may falter. There are already signs that it has been downgraded in some countries with evidence of political withdrawal. All the more reason for the voice of higher education researchers to be heard. Since the first conference they have established themselves as powerful stakeholders in the development of the EHEA, who are helping to maintain the momentum of the Bologna process. Their pivotal role has been strengthened by the second Bucharest conference." Peter Scott, Institute of Education, London (General Rapporteur of the FOHE-BPRC first edition)

Détente in Cold War Europe

Détente in Cold War Europe PDF Author: Elena Calandri
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857728776
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
The Mediterranean sea has been a key geopolitical territory in the global international relations of the twentieth century; of crucial importance to the US, the Middle East and in the history of the EU. As Cold War documents become declassified and these archives become accessible to western historians, this volume reassesses the secret war waged over three decades for control of the Mediterranean Sea. An 'American lake' in the 1950s, a battlefield for influence in the Cold War of the 1960s, and an increasingly important political arena for the oil-rich Gulf States in the 1970s, the Mediterranean offers a focal point around which the major themes and narratives of Cold War history were constructed. "Detente in Cold War Europe" draws together detailed analyses of the major moments of post-WWII history through the prism of the Mediterranean - including the signing of the Helsinki Accords in 1975, the Jordan crisis of 1970, the Soviet role in the Yom Kippur war, the Cyprus emergency of 1974, US-Soviet detente and US-Israeli relations under President Nixon. This book is a vital work for historians of the twentieth century and for those seeking to understand the importance of the Mediterranean in the political history of the Cold War.

Handbook on Critical Political Economy and Public Policy

Handbook on Critical Political Economy and Public Policy PDF Author: Christoph Scherrer
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1800373783
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 520

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Book Description
This comprehensive and stimulating Handbook examines the contribution of political economy to public policy. It provides an overview of several strands of critical political economy, supported by case studies from OECD countries, Latin America, South Africa, and South and East Asia.

Hydrogen Storage for Sustainability

Hydrogen Storage for Sustainability PDF Author: Marcel Van de Voorde
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110594315
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Carbon neutral hydrogen technologies play a role in preventing climate change and the capacity to store and transport hydrogen will be critical in the growing hydrogen economy. This book focuses on new developments of hydrogen storage technologies and deals with an overview of the materials and science necessary for storing hydrogen with great attention to the synthesis, kinetics, and thermodynamics of new advanced materials e.a. porous carbon and nanomaterials. Ideal book for students of materials science, chemistry, physics; for researchers, chemical- and mechanical engineers, for industrialists, policymakers, safety agencies and governments.