This is a comprehensive and rounded thematic study of the EU-member states. The text provides detailed coverage of the principal member states and comparative studies of the smaller states, as well as discussing the issue of enlargement and covering empirical themes.

Portugal's European Union honeymoon has officially ended. It was the victim of a Europe-wide political and financial crisis and an unstable EU identity increasingly splintered along regional and economic fractures. What does this mean for the former good student of European democracy? The answer may lie in renewed Portuguese efforts to deepen and strengthen ties with Lusophone countries across the globe, which since 1996 have been organized into a supranational organization called the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP). While Portugal's marginality in relation to Europe might be emphasized in the corridors of Brussels, within the realm of the CPLP the former world power can once again see itself as existing at the center geographically as well as from a historic-cultural perspective of an extensive international milieu. The Lusophone World: The Evolution of Portuguese National Narratives explores the dialectic between Portugal's sense of identity and belonging in the EU and the CPLP. It provides an analysis of the manner in which Portugal's institutional allegiances to both of these organizations have impacted the political, economic, and social fabric of the nation. The fact that Portugal is turning to its former colonies as alternate partners in trade, commerce, emigration, and development initiatives may not be evidence of straightforward estrangement from the European continent. More likely, Portugal appears to be riding a fresh wave of what it means to be modern in the European milieu. This new concept of modernity, related to rhetoric of hybridity and a self-professed position as interlocutor, could be evidence of a deeper understanding of the new tools needed to survive and prosper in a rapidly-changing European Union.

Sergio Fabbrini argues that the European Union (EU) is made up of states pursuing different aims, rather than simply moving in the same direction at different speeds. He describes the alternative perspectives on the EU (an economic community, an intergovernmental union, and a parliamentary union), that led to multiple compromises in its structure and shows how the Euro crisis has called them into question. The book argues that a new European political order is necessary to deal with the consequences of the crisis, based on an institutional differentiation between the EU member states interested only in market co-operation and those advancing towards a genuine economic and monetary union. Such a differentiation would allow the latter group to become a political union, conceptualised as a compound union of states and citizens, while preserving a revised framework of a single market in which both groups of states can participate.

A fresh introduction to the European Union that helps students take an analytical look at this dynamic institution.

Croatia is a country with a vast history that has survived times of war and conflict to now enjoy growth and prosperity. Today, Croatia is a place where tourists find and enjoy beautiful havens and stunning landscapes. This book offers readers the chance to see what life in Croatia is like, including details of its history, government, lifestyle, sport, and popular foods. Vivid photographs, detailed descriptions of key locations, and compelling sidebars will entice and encourage budding explorers.

Welfare states are the product of economic, political and social interactions, and undergo changes as these interactions transform. Existing welfare state theories mainly tend to explain the emergence and development of the welfare state in the western, industrialized and capitalist world. While the states of Central and Eastern Europe have recently been integrated in the academic discourse, the countries of the former Yugoslavia have been predominantly excluded from comparative analysis. Issues of nationalism and ethnic polarization have been prevalent there while socio-economic issues have been put on the back burner. This book explores what happened to the strong social states and relatively equal societies which existed in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia, and looks into what accounts for these diverse outcomes. By investigating the applicability of the theories on welfare state development and typologization, it fills in the gap in the welfare state literature. It offers an original typology of social citizenship that takes into account the diversity of welfare policy formations across the region. The aim of this typology is not to compete with existing ones, but rather to offer a framework for better understanding of states that do not necessarily fit into known explanatory categories. In a global context of changing economic circumstances and contending political responses, macroeconomic policy and welfare state reform become order of the day. By featuring the ways that states adjust to new pressures, this book’s arguments may come in handy to those trying to make sense of the crisis and the powers that drive the policy solutions.

This book analyzes top-down and bottom-up strategies of framing the nation and collective identities through commemorative practices relating to events from the Second World War and the 1990s "Homeland War" in Croatia. With attention to media representations of commemorative events and opinion poll data, it draws on interviews and participant observation at commemorative events to focus on the speeches of political elites, together with the speeches of opposition politicians and other social actors (such as the Catholic Church, anti-fascist organizations and war veterans’ and victims’ organizations) who challenge official narratives. Offering innovative approaches to researching and analyzing commemorative practices in post-conflict societies, this examination of a nation’s transition from a Yugoslav republic to an independent state – and now the newest member of the European Union – constitutes a unique case study for scholars of cultural memory and identity politics interested in the production and representation of national identities in official narratives.