This volume explores the role of territory in the creation, maintenance and extension of a new type of frontier, the electronic frontier, from a social and economic point of view. It departs from the earlier concepts of borders – state, social, economic, ethnic, religious, etc. – to investigate the fluidity of borders and their shift towards an axis-based paradigm within the free-movement European Union. Specifically, the authors will examine a) the metamorphoses of frontiers between the real and the virtual, b) the importance of space (territory) in the new information society and the Digital Single Market and c) the evolution of electronic frontiers in relation to globalization and the network society. What happens when the Internet collides with new social and economic borders? In the past borders have been perceived from only a national state point of view. Now new types of borders or frontiers, such as social, economic, ethnic, religious frontiers, can be discussed. The electronic frontier is the result of a socio-economic analysis of the relationship between the Internet and new frontiers in society and the economy. The European space best represents the fluidity of borders and frontiers within this transformation. Thus, the European Union is the best space to perform research on the electronic frontiers. Borders are permeable or impermeable, agents of inclusiveness or of exclusion. The relations between the real space and the virtual space, but also the influence of the Internet on society, lead us to two other important concepts for our research, namely digital divide and digital inclusion, which define connections or barriers even within the virtual space. This book attempts to answer questions such as: What types of borders have information and communication technologies created in Europe? Which is the foundation of these new frontiers? How does the network society function in Europe and which type of frontier prevails? This title aims to fill the gap in the literature in the relationship between frontiers and information and communication technologies.

The Economics and Politics of European Integration offers a comprehensive history of European integration, from the conceptualization of a United States of Europe, to the present day. The special role of the United States in this process of integration, and the expansion and evolution of the European Union, is critically analyzed. The book also thoroughly discusses the current view of the EU and the complex crises emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the book focuses primarily on Europe, the role of other countries is also examined. The rise of hostile enemies from Turkey, Russia, the US and China is explored, and the history and outcome of Brexit also receives unique focus. Maps are used throughout to clearly depict the enlargement process. This illuminating text will be valuable reading for students and researchers across international economics, economic history, political economy and European studies.

This revised, expanded and updated second edition of John McCormick's Understanding the European Union provides a broad ranging but concise introduction to the EU. Rather than focusing just on the politics or the economics of the EU or on detailed coverage of its institutions and/or policies, the author covers all major aspects of European integration combining a clear and accessible thematic narrative with boxed summaries of a wide range of essential facts and figures.

By the end of this century, 9 out of 10 Europeans will live in an urban area. But what kind of city will they call home? You'll find all the answers in CITY, TRANSFORMED, the new essay series from the European Investment Bank. This panoramic first essay in the series lays out a great sweeping history of European cities over the last fifty years—and showcases new directions being taken by some of our most innovative cities. Urban experts Greg Clark, Tim Moonen, and Jake Nunley based at University College London take a definitive look at how Europe's cities transformed from post-industrial decline to thriving metropolises that are as prosperous and liveable as anywhere on Earth.

This book surveys Poland’s move from being a post-feudal, backward, peripheral country to being a modern, capitalist, European state: from the partition of the commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania to the abolishment of ‘second serfdom’; late industrialization to state socialism; post-partition fragmentation to post-Second World War westward dislocation; and from the ‘Solidarność’ movement to accession into the European Union. Could Poland really be considered an ‘underdeveloped’ nation throughout the last 200 years? What factors contributed to its ‘backwardness’? Has Poland yet managed to catch up with the West? This book, the first overview of the modern economic history of Poland to be published in English, addresses these and many other questions crucial for developing our understanding of the economic history of modern Central-Eastern Europe. The economic development of Poland is analyzed through data and statistics, as well as through analysis of the ideas that paved the way for the politics of economic and social modernization.

Highlighting the most important events, ideas, and individuals that shaped modern Europe, A Concise History of Modern Europe provides a readable, succinct history of the continent from the Enlightenment and the French Revolution to the present day. Avoiding a detailed, lengthy chronology, the book focuses on key events and ideas to explore the causes and consequences of revolutions—be they political, economic, or scientific; the origins and development of human rights and democracy; and issues of European identity. Any reader needing a broad overview of the sweep of European history since 1789 will find this book, published in a first edition under the title Revolutionary Europe, an engaging and cohesive narrative.

Health at a Glance: Europe 2018 presents comparative analyses of the health status of EU citizens and the performance of the health systems of the 28 EU Member States, 5 candidate countries and 3 EFTA countries.