Before it became a federation, the United States was briefly a confederation, a much looser union composed of states rather than of peoples. Unions of states to promote ecomomic well-being and to prevent war are now being revived. Mr. Lister analyzes modern confederalism, and how it is functioning in the single market of the Europen Union and how it might function if the collective security system of the United Nations could be carried out, as originally planned, by a confederal-style partnership of the world's independent states. Political scientists have traditionally classified voluntary polities as confederations, federations, or unitary states. But they have ignored the first of these classes, perhaps because Alexander Hamilton, wishing to mobilize support for the new federal constitution, discredited not only the United States Confederation but the whole class of confederations as a viable method of governance. More than 200 years later, confederation as a form of governance is still under a cloud. Yet it has been resurfacing, largely unrecognized for what it is, in the repertory of government. In the treaties of Rome and Maastricht and in the collective security system of the Charter, the European Union and the United Nations are already involved in forms of governance that are confederal in all but name. Lister's book describes confederal governance and how such unions of states differ from intergovernmental organizations on the one hand and federations on the other. Meticulously researched and carefully argued, it draws upon his five years of study of confederal unions from Ancient Greece through the 19th-century Germanic Confederation and the German Zollverein. But his book is not a history of confederations. Instead, it shows how long-term alliances sometimes evolve into unions of states and, in time, into communities of the peoples who live in those states. It also shows how the ties of confederal union have been institutionalized in modern times in the EU and how they might be institutionalized in a global collective security body.^L ^L Finally, the book stresses the urgency of moving in this direction because we shall face a very serious security problem in the next century. With the steady leakage of nuclear materials in Russia, the non-proliferation approach to controlling weapons of mass destruction appears to be breaking down. Lister argues that if and when governments are confronted with this looming problem, perhaps in the not-too-distant future, the confederal model may be the one that they will need to have updated and at their disposal.

Fully revised and updated throughout, Theorizing European Integration 2nd edition provides a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical study of European integration. Combining perspectives from international relations, comparative politics and social and political theory, Dimitris N. Chryssochoou offers a complete overview of the many competing approaches that have sought to capture and explain the evolving political nature of the European Union (EU) and its qualitative transition from a union of states to a polity in its own right. Contemporary issues, themes and theories addressed include: the different uses and current state of EU theorizing statecentric accounts of integration and their critics new normative challenges to the study of the EU the political dynamics of European treaty reform new forms of democracy, citizenship and governance the limits and possibilities of EU constitutionalism interdisciplinary understandings of EU polityhood the introduction of a theory of organized synarchy the transformations of state sovereignty in late modern Europe.

Thoroughly revised, the seventh edition of this accessible and highly respected text provides a rigorous yet digestible introduction to the European Union. Additionally, it authoritatively explains developments that continue to bring challenges to this powerful institution in times of great political change. Key features: Clearly covers the history, governing institutions, and policies of the EU; Fully updated with new tables, figures, and photographs; In-text features such as Chapter Overviews, Questions to Consider, and Further Reading encourage deeper research and debate; Sustained discussion of transformative and historical change in the upheaval of Brexit and its ramifications, and the future relationship of the UK with the EU; Through reflection on destabilizing issues such as immigration and the years of refugee crisis in Europe, the continued crisis in the eurozone, tensions with Poland and Hungary, Euroskepticism, Russia, and the rise of populism; Increased coverage throughout of women or minorities within the EU. Jonathan Olsen presents the EU as one of the world's economic and political superpowers, which has brought far-reaching changes to the lives of Europeans and has helped its member states to take a newly assertive role on the global stage. Essential reading for students of European and EU politics, this book offers an up-to-the-minute look at both the opportunities and existential threats facing the EU.

A thoroughly revised, concise, and comprehensive introduction to the structure, institutions, and policy development of the European Union

The financial crisis – originated in 2008 in the United States – had a dramatic impact on the world economy. The European Union was immediately involved, but its reaction to the crisis was clearly inadequate. The misgovernment of the European economy not only put at risk the European Monetary Union, but it also caused further hindrances to the recovery of the global economy. The global financial turmoil shook deep-rooted beliefs. The doctrine of international neo-liberalism is more and more criticized. Nevertheless, the critics of neo-liberalism focus their attention on the relationship between the state and the market, as if the nation states, with their international organisations, have enough power for an effective global governance of the world economy. The model of European supranational integration, though seriously imperfect, can suggest some new way out from the crisis – even at the world level – based on a new relationship between the supranational government of the Union and the market. In this book, several academic disciplines are involved: international economics, international political economy, international law, international relations, political theory and democratic theory. Adopting such a multidisciplinary theoretical perspective, the volume tries to answer the following question: Is a more supranational Europe able to provide a better government of the EMU? Does this reform involve more European democracy?

Law, Politics and Society is the sixth and latest addition to the European Union Studies Association series, State of the European Union. The contributors of this volume take the dynamic interaction between law, politics and society as a starting point to think critically about recent developments and future innovations in European integration and EU studies. The book provides an overview of key events between 2000 and 2002 in the European Union, while illuminating how these institutional (formal legal) developments impact ordinary individuals and EU politics. For example, the European Convention with the possibility of an EU constitution is viewed not only as a new institutional development, but we examine what impact the creation of judicially enforceable rights has for Europeans and European integration. How does the opportunity for new rights claims alter the balance of power between individuals and EU organizations, such as the European Court of Justice, vis à vis national governments in EU policy expansion? Importantly, the volume also seeks to provide a unique and interdisciplinary approach to studying the European Union by bringing together both legal scholars and political scientists. Chapter contributors offer readers both sophisticated theoretical and empirical accounts of these new developments. Issues such as enlargement, immigration reform, and monetary union require not only a precise understanding of an increasingly complex set of formal legal rules (the domain of legal scholars), but equally important are the effects on ordinary citizens and political participation (the very power struggles that concern political scientists). This volume seeks to integrate these two approaches, not only by including the scholarship in a single volume, but by asking individual contributors to think outside their respective disciplines. The division between the legal and political, as many would argue, is often both artificial and unproductive. Our volume seeks to bridge this divide.

This is the seventh volume in the highly influential State of the European Union series, produced under the auspices of the European Union Studies Association. This volume provides major new insights on both the recent evolution of the EU and its future developmental trajectory, and maps European trends against American policies and institutions.