In 2016, the voters of the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. The majority for 'Leave' was small. Yet, in more than 40 years of EU membership, the British had never been wholeheartedly content. In the 1950s, governments preferred the Commonwealth to the Common Market. In the 1960s, successive Conservative and Labour administrations applied to join the European Community because it was a surprising success, whilst the UK's post-war policies had failed. But the British were turned down by the French. When the UK did join, more than 10 years after first asking, it joined a club whose rules had been made by others and which it did not much like. At one time or another, Labour and Conservative were at war with each other and internally. In 1975, the Labour government held a referendum on whether the UK should stay in. Two thirds of voters decided to do so. But the wounds did not heal. Europe remained 'them', 'not 'us'. The UK was on the front foot in proposing reform and modernisation and on the back foot as other EU members wanted to advance to 'ever closer union'. As a British diplomat from 1968, Stephen Wall observed and participated in these unfolding events and negotiations. He worked for many of the British politicians who wrestled to reconcile the UK's national interest in making a success of our membership with the sceptical, even hostile, strands of opinion in parliament, the press and public opinion. This book tells the story of a relationship rooted in a thousand years of British history, and of our sense of national identity in conflict with our political and economic need for partnership with continental Europe.

This book provides both a comprehensive introduction and a perceptive examination of Britain’s relations with the European Community and the European Union since 1945, combining an historical account with political analysis to illustrate the changing and multifaceted nature of British and European politics. Few issues in British politics since 1945 have generated such heated controversy as Britain’s approach to the process of European integration associated with the European Union. The long-running debate on the subject has not only played a major part in the downfall of prime ministers and other leading political figures but has also exposed major fault-lines within governments and caused deep and rancorous divisions within and between the major political parties. This highly contested issue has given rise to bitter campaigning in the press and between pressure groups, and it has bemused, confused and divided the public at large. Key questions addressed include: Why has Europe had such an explosive impact on British politics? What impelled British policymakers to join the European Community and to undertake one of the radical, if not the most radical, changes in modern British history? What have been the perceived advantages and disadvantages of British membership of the European Union? Why has British membership of the European Union rarely attracted a national consensus? Engaging with both academic and public debates about Britain and the European Union, this volume is essential reading for all students of British history, British politics, and European politics.

Never in the lifetime of most British adults has there been such uncertainty about the future of the political and governing institutions of the state. Brexit has the potential to change everything – from the shape of government institutions, to the main political parties, from Britain's relationship with its near neighbour Ireland to its international trading. The idealists of the Leave campaign won their vote in 2016. But now the realists are gently taking over. Here, Denis MacShane explains how the Brexit process will be long and full of difficulties – arguing that a 'Brexiternity' of negotiations and internal political wrangling in Britain lies ahead.

This is the third edition of an established textbook on Britain's role in the European Community. Britain joined the EC in 1973, over twenty years after the first of the European Communities was formed. Within a year, she had established a reputation for being at odds with major Community initiatives and for taking an independent point of view.This reputation was consolidated over the next twenty-four years. In An Awkward Partner Stephen George surveys the policies that earned Britain this reputation, recording the role successive British governments have played in the European Community. He stresses the influence both of external circumstances and domestic political considerations in shaping these policies and analyses some of the underlying political reasons for Britain's perceived awkwardness. The first edition was the first book-length survey to appear in English of British policy toward the European Community, and rapidly became established as the leading book in the field for students. In this third edition, Stephen George brings his analysis up to date, taking the story of the Major Government through to its end in the 1997 general election. This new edition will continue to be invaluable to students taking courses on the European Community, comparative European politics, and public policy.

The University of Notre Dame Press is pleased to bring Ernst Haas's classic work on European integration, The Uniting of Europe, back into print. First published in 1958 and last printed in 1968, this seminal volume is the starting point for anyone interested in the pre-history of the European Union. Haas uses the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) as a case study of the community formation processes that occur across traditional national and state boundaries. Haas points to the ECSC as an example of an organization with the "power to redirect the loyalties and expectations of political actors." In this pathbreaking book Haas contends that, based on his observations of the actual integration process, the idea of a "united Europe" took root in the years immediately following World War II. His careful and rigorous analysis tracks the development of the ECSC, including, in his 1968 preface, a discussion of the eventual loss of the individual identity of the ECSC through its absorption into the new European Community. Featuring a new introduction by Haas analyzing the impact of his book over time, as well as an updated bibliography, The Uniting of Europe is a must-have for political scientists and historians of modern and contemporary Europe. This book is the inaugural volume of Notre Dame's new Contemporary European Politics and Society Series.

While the discussions among Brexiters mainly focus on the referendum of 2016 or David Cameron’s “great miscalculation” and its repercussions, this book looks at the Brexit as a process that began decades earlier. It analyses EU-UK relations from a new perspective, taking into consideration the historical background, political aspects, and legal and economic matters. The book provides a holistic understanding of the Brexit, approaching the referendum and its outcomes as the culmination of a long process rather than an isolated political event crafted within the corridors of Westminster or Downing Street 10. Accordingly, it addresses a range of thematic issues, historical patterns of political and economic behavior both within and beyond the United Kingdom, and possible future effects on relations between the Union and one of its most important members.

During the past fifty years few issues in British politics have generated such heated controversy as Britain's approach to European integration. Why has Europe had such an explosive impact on British politics? What impelled British policymakers to embrace a European destiny and why did they take such a cautious approach? These are some of the key issues addressed inThe Reluctant Europeans. This new study draws upon recently available source material providing a clear chronological account and covering events right up to Blair's first year in office and the launch of the Euro.