Product Description
The European Union is the largest economic entity in the world and one of the largest political entities, with 493 million people in 2006. Fully updated for 2007 to include controversial and current topics such as the Union's enlargement and its role in ongoing world affairs, this accessible Very Short Introduction shows how and why the Union has developed, how its institutions work, and what it does--from the single market to the Euro, and from agriculture to peace-keeping and the environment. Pinder and Usherwood cover the entire history of the Union, examine the momentous changes that have taken place within the Union since 2000, and highlight the benefits, controversies, and lessons learned from programs such as its expansion into central and eastern Europe, and the circulation of the Euro. The book also examines the role of the European Union as a peace-keeper in Europe and beyond, sheds light on how it functions in world politics, looks at its role in supporting the rise of environmental politics, and considers the challenges and choices that lie ahead in the 21st century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

European Union? Is That a Soccer League?
Most Americans know more about the operation of the Starship Enterprise than about the structure of the European Union. More of the history of Hobbitland than the history of the EU. Sorry, folks, if this seems to be a snarky generalization or a denigration of your electoral capacities! It IS a blatant generalization, but deep in your hearts, can't you admit that it's true? In any case, here's a book that will slip into your purse or pants-pocket and still leave room for your passport -- 200 pages, roughly 3" x 5" -- which will bring you up to speed on America's most important diplomatic and economic partner. It's not a gracefully-written book; the prose is what you'd expect from two professors of Political Science. But it's concise, well documented, forthright in its 'federalist' sympathies, and fair to the positions of those Europeans who are not entirely pleased with the evolution of the EU.

Possibly the chapter titles will offer some idea of the scope of this 'short introduction':
1) What the EU is for
2) How the EU was made
3) How the EU is governed
4) Single market, single currency
5) Agriculture, regions, budgets: conflicts over who gets what
6) Social policy, environmental policy
7) "An area of freedom, security and justice"
8) A great civilian power ... and more, or less?
9) The EU and the rest of Europe
10) The EU in the world
11) Much accomplished... but what next?

Uf ta! That's a lot of stuff for such a tiny book! You'll have to expect it to be dense and difficult. You'll have to tax your memory from chapter to chapter, because there's no space for reiteration, and you'll have to keep you thumb on the page of alphabetical abbreviations. But the EU is not going away, my friends, and increasingly the USA will be compelled to negotiate/cooperate/imitate/integrate its economy and policy with it. The EU may be a much younger sibling of the USA, in terms of federal constitutional government, but it represents a vastly more mature civic tradition in every other way.

The book could be more lucid, though in fact the structure of the EU is inherently imprecise and ruled by tacit gentlemen's consensuses, not unlike the 'unwritten constitution' of the UK. And I suppose it could be more entertaining without losing its integrity. That's why I'm giving it only four stars. Nonetheless, I strongly recommend it.

Definately not a "Dummies" book
I have to agree with the one-star reviewer about how this book is a little too "Academic".However, I think this is a good and bad thing. First, if you are looking for an "Idiot's Guide..." or "Dummies" version of the European Union then this book is not for you.However, since it is a short book I found it was a good tool to look up definitions and found out what was truly meant by "federalist", "intergovernmentalist", etc.In that way I expanded my horizons on politics and government without being daunted by a 300+ page tome.

To conclude, the book is not truly academic, but requires some research by the reader to become more accessible, unless they are already familiar with a lot of political jargon.

As a side note, I have read three of these "Very Short Introductions" and I'm beginning to find that a well written Wikipedia article is just as good a resource and $10 cheaper.

Not for beginners
As a journalist beginning a study of the EU, I was sorely disappointed in the presentation and writing of this book.

Although it's billed as being "accessible" and written in "plain English," it's not. It reads as if it were written for academic insiders. Sentences are long, convoluted and unclear. Try out this paragraph, for example:

"One should not underestimate the role that the governments retain in the Union's affairs, with their power of decision in the Council that represents the member states and their monopoly of the ultima ratio of armed force. But other approaches, including those known as neo-functionalism and federalism, give more weight than the intergovernmentalists to the European institutions."

Such language hits the reader as early as page 6.

The text also bogs down in details that seem unnecessary for an introductory understanding of the subject. Such lack of focus is distracting.

I ended up grasping the basic ideas that this book was trying to teach -- but only after abandoning it for better-written material.

Good intro for an Anglo-based audience
Pinder does a good job at taking a complex subject and distilling it to its essential elements. It won't surprise readers of this publisher that the author's perspective is almost entirely British. The author is also very favorably disposed toward the EU and does not provide "equal time" for the other side. That is his prerogative, of course, but it does not detract from the book.

The Merits of an Introduction
It is a good book. If you are looking for an introduction without getting into long theoretical discussions. The merit of this book is its simplicity. It tells the story of the European Union without leaving any of the main topics out. It reads easily. Has a few very useful charts and photographs. Its up to date, year 2001; I could not find another book that would bring the reader up to the launching of the Euro! The only reason it does not get five stars is that it is only a short introductory study and as a consequence it lacks depths, otherwise its a great book! ... Read more

Product Description
An authoritative text that covers both EU theories and EU institutions, European Union Politics, Third Edition, provides students with a solid introduction to the field.

FEATURES
* Presents carefully edited contributions from experts, providing students with comprehensive and stimulating content
* Assumes no background knowledge, making it accessible to students new to the subject
* Provides excellent learning features, including reader's guides, boxes of further information, key points, figures, questions, further reading, websites, and glossary

NEW TO THIS EDITION
* Additional editor Dr. Nieves Perez-Solorzano Borragan
* Two new chapters: Policy-Making in the European Union (Chapter 13) and Environmental Policy (Chapter 14)
* Coverage of differentiated European integration now incorporated within the new policy-making chapter
* The Lisbon Treaty incorporated within the text
* Updated Companion Website (www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199548637/) with resources for students--including interactive maps of Europe; interactive timeline of key events in the history of the EU; multiple choice questions; biographies of important figures in EU history; exam study guide; flashcard glossary; and links to OUP journal articles--and instructors (PowerPoint lecture slides; essay, seminar, and quiz questions; and boxes and figures from the textbook) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Superb volume on the EU
This is a superb volume and a terrific value for such a thorough book with updated info on the EU. I had used another book to teach an EU course last semester that cost over $70, was printed on terrible quality paper, was thin and incomplete (yet of an equivalent copyright date - so no excuse!) There is simply no comparison between the two -- and for more than $25 less! This book's arrangement with a first section on the historical background of the EU, followed by sections on theoretical/conceptual approaches, institutions and actors, policies and policymaking, and finally issues and debates, coupled with excellent figures, tables and other illustrations, makes it a complete winner.

The authors are articulate and accessible (important factors for an undergrad textbook). The "key points" boxes and follow-up study questions, along with the Oxford University Press's on-line resource centre, make this book an even more excellent value.

I feel you cannot go wrong with this book for an undergrad course on the EU -- some may be put off by its total page number, but please don't be - assess the book for yourself and you will see it is all important, easily read and understood, and arranged in a very sensible and rational fashion. Plus, Cini and Borragon make it truly interesting!

Best Intro to the EU available
Despite the price, this textbook will serve as a useful introduction for those taking European Studies in university (or any internatinally-focused political science program for that matter). ... Read more

Product Description
A substantially revised and updated new edition of this highly-successful and ground-breaking text which analyzes the EU as a political system using the methods of comparative political science.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent College Upper Division Text
This would make a great text for an upper division class on the EU or on comparative legislative politics.I am very impressed with its theoretical sophistication with the inclusion of simple spatial models that make its content comparable with a book such as Krehbiel's _Pivotal Politics_.

Toowordy
This book is for someone who has a pretty decent knowledge of the EU and of the governmental process.The book is crammed with information but is WORDY and Hix is a bit long winded at times.He provides a lot of references to other political theorists with whom the reader should be familiar with before he or she tries to dive into this text.I found it to be nice to read as a follow up text on the EU rather than reading it on its own.

The Political System of The European Union
In the preface to 'The Political System of the European Union' the author articulates that the central aim of the book is to provide an extensive review of the recent 'explosion' of empirical and theoretical literature,concentrating on the European Union's (EU) decision making and policyprocess. This aim is fulfilled admirably, in a comprehensive and accessiblemanner. The book begins by examining the EU system of Government.However, the conventional approach of examining separately each of thegoverning institutions is rejected in favour of examining in turn, theExecutive (Council of Ministers and Commission), Legislature (EuropeanParliament) and Judiciary (European Court of Justice). This classificationnot only increases parsimony, but also allows for the 'importation' of awider body of political science literature in which the theories ofgovernance have been developed to an extent far beyond those seen in thesub-field of European Studies. The book subsequently turns itsattention to the politics of the EU, concentrating on public opinion,parties and interest representation. Drawing extensively on recent work byMathew Gabel, and through original analysis of Eurobarometer data, adetailed picture is provided of the stratification of support for EUintegration throughout European society. One major conclusion is made - theEuropean issue cuts across the traditional left-right dimension -encouraging Europe's main political parties to play down the European issuein domestic competition. The consequences of this conclusion are analysedin the context of the EU's 'nascent political parties' and the prospectsfor majoritarian democracy - prospects which Hix concludes are extremelylimited. In many respects this last point captures the essence ofwhat Hix is attempting to convey in conceptualising the EU as a politicalsystem. For despite the author's initial claims, this book represents farmore than a literature review.It represents an attempt to transfer thestudy of the EU from the paradigm of International Relations to themainstream of Political Science. This has lead to the misperception that'The political system of the EU' down plays the 'rogue' nature of the EU incomparison to other political systems. It does not. And the point is madeclearly that the European Union is a political system but not a state. Amongst its many strengths, one weakness reoccurs. The book investigatesand explains the EU using predominantly North American political scienceliterature. In certain respects this is its strength: as in thetransposition of US Congess literature onto the European Parliament.However, in other respects, where European literature would provide avaluable comparative framework, such literature is absent.Such a focuscan be excused perhaps as a necessary counterbalance to the many'Eurocentric' volumes on the EU. In 'The Political System of the EuropeanUnion', Hix has produced an accessible and much needed literature review,whilst making a persuasive case for a change in the paradigm and methods ofEU studies. It is for this latter reason that the book will become aseminal text. ... Read more

Product Description
The European Union Explained provides a concise overview of the structure, history, and policies of the European Union. Anyone who needs a quick and accessible introduction to the EU--including scholars and professionals in government, business, media, or the nonprofit sector--will find this volume a valuable tool. Ideal for advanced high school and college text use, it is also useful background reading for those planning overseas study, work, or research. Drawing on many years of teaching and consulting, Andreas Staab offers basic terms and interpretive frameworks for understanding the evolution of the EU; the overall structure, purpose, and mandate of its main constituent divisions; and key policy areas, such as market unification. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A++++++
I couldn't ask for more when purchasing a textbook for college. They shipped easily within the time they listed and they were the cheapest for the book I needed. I'd love to do business with them again. Thanks!

"The European Union Explained" is a must read!!!
The European Union is complex, and can be difficult to understand, especially if you reside outside its boundaries. Dr. Andreas Staab'sbook is the perfect starting point for anyone looking to study the European Union."The European Union Explained" introduces the fundamental concepts, actors and institutions of the EU in a manageable and interesting way.The European Union will continue to play a key role throughout the 21st century... I encourage everyone to read this excellent book.

EU Explained
Like many Americans, I had little knowledge of the interworkings and make up of the European Union. The European Union Explained by Staab gives a great introduction into the EU: the history, the functions, the policies, and the future. The topics vary from the common agricultural policy to EU enlargement. The chapters are organized and the writing is clear. I now feel I have a grasp on the European Union, so much so I have discussed the French Presidency of EU with the French Consulate General. Understanding the European Union is essential to understanding global politics. The European Union Explained by Staab is essential for an understanding of the EU.

Must Read
Global uncertainty requires a global view.Economics, geopolitics, ecology, history, security, diplomacy, international relations, euro-centric psychology.From the point of view of a united Europe, Staab's new book offers even the casual reader an insightful narrative and the fresh, contemporary perspective necessary for a full grasp on any of these. Buy it. Read it.Get a twenty-first century take on the direction modern Europe is truly headed.--Jack Steinberg ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Book
This book is awesome for those students of International Business or for those students that need to learn more about the EU

never received
never received the item. i am currently waiting for a reimbursement.

talked to the customer service representative and although she had a tracking number the postal services could not locate it.

Good overview
This book was a great overview of the EU but more details in certain areas would have been nice- some information is repeated multiple times throughout the book (like examples). The book size was great for travel because it was not too big and the charts in it were great for understanding hard concepts or detailed explanations. The layout was good for breaking up the pages from looking so daunting. ... Read more

Product Description
This eagerly awaited new edition has been significantly revised after extensive user feedback to meet current teaching requirements. The first major textbook to be published since the rejuvenation of the Lisbon Treaty, it retains the best elements of the first edition - the engaging, easily understandable writing style, extracts from a variety of sources showing the creation, interpretation and application of the law and comprehensive coverage. In addition it has separate chapters on EU law in national courts, governance and external relations reflecting the new directions in which the field is moving. The examination of the free movement of goods and competition law has been restructured. Chapter introductions clearly set out what will be covered in each section allowing students to approach complex material with confidence and detailed further reading sections encourage further study. Put simply, it is required reading for all serious students of EU law. ... Read more

Product Description
Why are hopes fading for a single European identity? Economic integration has advanced faster and further than predicted, yet the European sense of 'who we are' is fragmenting. Exploiting decades of permissive consensus, Europe's elites designed and completed the single market, the euro, the Schengen passport-free zone, and, most recently, crafted an extraordinarily successful policy of enlargement. At the same time, these attempts to de-politicize politics, to create Europe by stealth, have produced a political backlash. This ambitious survey of identity in Europe captures the experiences of the winners and losers, optimists and pessimists, movers and stayers in a Europe where spatial and cultural borders are becoming ever more permeable. A full understanding of Europe's ambivalence, refracted through its multiple identities, lies at the intersection of competing European political projects and social processes. ... Read more

Product Description
Folsom's European Union Law comprehensively introduces this important area. It analyzes critical developments and emphasizes the external impact of European law. There is a summary of the history and growth of the European Union, and lawmaking in Europe. This Nutshell explores litigating European law, free movement, and internal policies. It also discusses EU international trade and business competition law. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

OK summary, but cluttered organization
EU law is a big subject to cover, and this book does a decent job. Unfortunately, I found the organization to be a bit cluttered. For example, Folsom throws EU sources of law together with discussion of EU agencies in the same chapter. Also, there are a few catchall chapters that cover everything from competition to environment. It would be better with more chapters and headings to make it easier to find information.

Great book for intro to EU law course
This book helped me get an A in EU Law. Everyone in the class that used this book found it to be VERY helpful. I do not like all nutshell series books but this one is quite good.

Good General Summary of EU Law Principles
This book provided a concise overview of the principles of EU Law. Well-written and easy to understand, it covered the most important aspects of the topic. The only criticism I have is that it did not provide a great deal of detail on the seminal cases, merely mentioning the name and the principle therein. ... Read more

Product Description
The policies of the European Union profoundly affect the lives of people in Europe and around the world. The new edition of this highly successful textbook outlines how and why such decisions are made, as well as the key challenges faced by policy-makers in the current political and economic climate.

Policy-Making in the European Union begins by clarifying the institutional framework of the EU and the analytical approaches used to understand it. A wide range of crucial and illustrative policies are then explored in detail by subject experts.

This volume includes new chapters on ways of analyzing the EU's policy process and on energy policy.A central theme to the volume is how the recent expansion to twenty-seven member states has affected policy-making across the different policy sectors. The conclusion reflects on how this challenge and the protracted constitutional stalemate have affected policy-making in the EU. It also explores the impact of the financial and economic crises that have struck Europe over the past several years.

The sixth edition is fully up-to-date, and is the ideal text for all those with an interest in the policy-making of the European Union. ... Read more

Product Description

The end of the Cold War has ushered a restructuring of the institutions of the European Community, culminating into its enlargement to Eastern Europe, under the aegis of economic integration, democracy and human rights.

This book examines the development and the role of human rights in the European Union, from its inception as an economic co-operation project to an organisation of European States with a political agenda that goes beyond its borders. It argues that human rights have become an important component of the foreign policy of the European Union and that this role has grown from the inception of the Union through the Cold War and thereafter onto the process of enlargement of the Union. The book goes on to analyse the EU’s policy on minorities, as a particular example of human rights. It considers the level of their protection within the EU and the framework of international law, and compares minority rights in the older Member States including France, Germany and the UK, with newer Eastern European states.

Product Description
The September 11 attacks in the USA lent huge impetus to efforts to coordinate and expand the EU's counter-terrorism role, bringing about far-reaching cooperation and pushing the EU down the track of further European integration. In setting out the EU's achievements in the fight against terrorism, the chapters in this book explain how and why this has come about and the mechanisms involved. They also critically assess the limits of such integration and explore the tensions between co-operation and the issue of individual human rights. A selection of key documents rounds out the book with a valuable reference dimension. "This book brings together key thinkers and is a welcome analysis of terrorism challenges. David Spence has succeeded in giving us a timely and thoughtful complement to the terrorism debate" - Franco Frattini, EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, in the preface. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

To the point
This book is great for anyone wanting a refresher (or possibly even first-time knowledge) about the EU.It starts with a condensed history of Europe since the Second World War, and explains how Europe gradually integrated itself.Then it concisely describes the various parts of the European Union... very direct and to the point!I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description

The new edition of this accessible introduction to the history of the European Union (EU) has been fully revised and updated to reflect the significant changes within the EU over the past decade. Revealing the politics beneath the surface, national rivalries and changing positions behind events, meetings and treaty negotiations, the text:

• provides a thematic history of European economic and political integration in its economic, military, monetary and political contexts
• outlines the major schools of thought regarding the causes and motives for European economic integration including the theories of Lipgens, Haas and Milward
• considers the economic and political reasons for establishing supranational organisations
• evaluates the impact of the collapse of communism on the EU, its policy implications and member states’ responses
• contains new and updated material on the Euro, enlargement of the EU, the constitutional debate, EU economic, monetary and foreign policies and other key recent developments.

Ideal introductory reading for those new to the study of the EU seeking a concise and up-to-date account of the political and economic development of the EU, Origins & Development of the European Union is essential for all students of European politics, European history and those looking to gain a thorough understanding of contemporary politics.

Product Description
The volume of European Union legal acts relating to commercial law is staggering. This book provides a clear and concise overview of the vast bulk of European Union business law, giving extensive coverage to both legislation and the decisions of the Court of Justice. The text is fully up to date in the light of the Treaty of Lisbon. The book approaches European Union business law from the perspective of non-Member common law nations such as the United States, Australia and Canada. An Appendix contains model problem questions. Each chapter contains extensive references to other books, articles and websites for further reading. ... Read more

Product Description
Guide to the European Union

The Final Adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon gives the 27-member European Union new momentum as it enters the second decade of the 21^st century, more that half a century since the six-member European Economic Community was established in 1957. That the countries of the euro area alone now account for a greater proportion of world exports of goods and services than the United States shows how far the EU has come and how, given strength and unity, it has the potential to provide a counterbalance between America and China.

This revised and updated edition of this much-acclaimed guide to the working of the European Union is invaluable for anyone who wants to understand how the EU developed, how it works and the challenges it faces. Included in its comprehensive coverage are:

• How the institutions and committees work both in theory and in practice
• Where the money for the EU comes from and where it goes
• Facts and figures about the bureaucracy
• The single market and what it means for business
• The effects and implications of monetary and economic union and the introduction of the euro
• How enlargement will change the EU and the political considerations that will determine which other countries join
• The implications of the Lisbon treaty
• Every sphere of EU activity from workers’ and women’s rights to fishing and farming

Now in its tenth edition, The Economist Guide to the European Union is well established as the most clear and comprehensive guide to how the EU operates. For everyone who lives and works in the EU – and for others who do business with EU countries – there is no better source of reference. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent Book
I've started studying law and needed a quick refresher on the European Union.. this book did the trick. It explains everything in a quick and easy to understand way. not tedious and boring like other EU books.. would highly reccomend to anyone who is just interested in how it all works, the history etc

Guide to the European Union, Ninth Edition
This book provides a fairly comprehensive and readable introduction to the history and institutions of the European Union.But readers should beware that this book is now in its Tenth Edition (Jan. 2010).The Ninth Edition offered here is in many ways obsolete given the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty.

Nice to read, but...
It explains very well how everything happened, in other words it has a nice storyline. But it doesn't go into details; for that one should use Moussis' books. But those are not properly updated. 'Is there ever a good book' as one of my former professors said?

Great & Quick Service
Everything turned out great, and the book gave me all the information I needed for my presentation. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
The European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the world's largest market for carbon and the most significant multinational initiative ever taken to mobilize markets to protect the environment. It will be an important influence on the development and implementation of trading schemes in the US, Japan, and elsewhere. However, as is true of any pioneering public policy experiment, this scheme has generated much controversy. Pricing Carbon provides the first detailed description and analysis of the EU ETS, focusing on the first 'trial' period of the scheme (2005-7). Written by an international team of experts, it allows readers to get behind the headlines and come to a better understanding of what was done and what happened based on a dispassionate, empirically based review of the evidence. This book should be read by anyone who wants to know what happens when emissions are capped, traded, and priced. ... Read more

Product Description
Law of the European Union is at the cutting edge of developments in this dynamic area of the law.It explores the EU's constitutional and administrative law, as well as the major areas of substantive EU law.Topics are extensively illustrated with decisions from the European Court of Justice and the General Court (the renamed Court of First Instance), encouraging students to consider real world applications of the principles of law. ... Read more

Product Description
Nutshells present the essentials of law in clear and straightforward language, explaining the basic principles.Features such as diagrams and checklists make them easy to use, while the inclusion of model questions and answer plans help students test their knowledge.Nutshells are an essential revision aid and ideal for getting fully up to speed with a new subject. ... Read more

Product Description

The creation of European Works Councils is arguably the most important measure taken in global industrial relations in recent years. Adopted with the primary goal of facilitating European-level workers’ participation in information-sharing and consultation in multinational companies, EWCs have also been central to a wide-ranging process of institution-building at the European level. European Works Councils charts the growth in the number of EWCs and the development of practices associated with EWCs between 1994, when legislation on EWCs was adopted, and 2009, when the initial legislation was amended. Drawing on original, large-scale, survey data, the book shows that the quality of information and consultation is generally poor, thus bringing into question the soft touch legislative approach to employee participation of the European Commission.

The reforms implemented within trade union organizations to accommodate the development of EWCs are explored, together with the initiatives taken to extend the role of EWCs beyond information and consultation to incorporate negotiation. Articulation between EWCs and trade union organizations is shown to be integral to EWCs as institutions of information and consultation, and as a means to influence managerial decision-making. Similarly, the development of EWCs is shown to be a process contested by employers’ organizations and managers on the one hand and labour organizations on the other. The character of this contestation ensures that the category ‘EWC’ includes a wide range of institutional forms and practices.