As financial turmoil in Europe preoccupies political leaders and global markets, it becomes more important than ever to understand the forces that underpin the European Union, hold it together and ...drive it forward. This timely book provides a gripping account of the realities of power politics among European states and between their leaders. Drawing on long experience working behind the scenes, Luuk van Middelaar captures the dynamics and tensions shaping the European Union from its origins until today.It is a story of unexpected events and twists of fate, bold vision and sheer necessity, told from the perspective of the keyplayers - from de Gaulle to Havel, Thatcher to Merkel. Van Middelaar cuts through the institutional complexity by exploring the unforeseen outcomes of decisive moments and focusing on the quest for public legitimacy.As a first-hand witness to the day-to-day actions and decisions of Europe's leaders, the author provides a vivid narrative of the crises and compromises that united a continent. By revisiting the past, he sheds fresh light on the present state of European unification and offers insights into what the future may hold.
This book analyses whether the EU’s drift towards European strategic autonomy presents a challenge or a window of opportunity for its small member states to advance their security interests. The ...volume presents small states’ perceptions of European strategic autonomy, highlighting their expectations and concerns. The chapters focus on the depth and breadth of European strategic autonomy, national security considerations, assessment of the impact on transatlantic relations, the expected outputs, and its potential impact on the EU’s institutional structure. It also shows how systemic circumstances and the interests of powerful states, either belonging to the EU (France, Germany, and Poland) or having a significant say in European security architecture (the US), establish opportunities and constraints for the small states to shape European strategic autonomy. In particular, the study focuses on the diverging interests of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, and the Netherlands. It demonstrates that, in most cases, European strategic autonomy is perceived not as an alternative to NATO but as a supplementary element that could facilitate the development of national military capabilities, indigenous defence industries and resilience to non-military threats. Ultimately, the book suggests that national approaches towards European strategic autonomy mainly stem from pragmatic national security and foreign policy considerations, while largely ignoring grand strategic ideas. This book will be of much interest to students of European politics, security studies, and international relations. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1, 500 years. But today they need to reset their strained relationship. Ezra Vogel underscores the need for Japan to offer a ...thorough apology for its atrocities during WWII, but he also urges China to recognize Japan as a potential vital partner in the region.
Projekt mednarodne historične sociologije – sinteze historične sociologije in mednarodnih odnosov –, ki je v pospešenem teku zadnji dve desetletji, je nastal iz analitične potrebe po dvojem: po ...izogibu sociološkemu redukcionizmu (»metodološkemu internalizmu«) in mednarodnemu redukcionizmu (»metodološkemu eksternalizmu«) ter po izogibu evropocentrizmu. V prispevku bomo ugotavljali, kaj so odlike in pasti tega projekta, tako da bomo kritično ocenili nekatere ključne teoretske in empirične teze, ki se pojavljajo v nedavno objavljeni literaturi; posebej podrobno se bomo lotili uspešnice How the West Came to Rule, ki je paradigmatski primer tega projekta. Pokazali bomo, da se pri teoretiziranju vznika in širitve kapitalistične modernosti paradigma »političnega marksizma« izogne metodološkemu internalizmu in evropocentrizmu, medtem ko razvpita alternativna paradigma »neenakomernega in kombiniranega razvoja« k tej teoretizaciji ne doda razlagalnih novosti in je v nekaterih vidikih celo manj ustrezna
This book offers new insight into the end of the British Empire in the Middle East. It takes a fresh look at the relationship between Britain and the Gulf rulers at the height of the British Empire, ...and how its effects are still felt internationally today. Over the last four decades, the Persian Gulf region has gone through oil shocks, wars and political changes, and yet the basic entities of the southern Gulf states have remained largely in place. How did this resilient system come about for such seemingly contested societies? Drawing on extensive multi-archival research in the British, American and Gulf archives, this book illuminates a series of negotiations between British diplomats and the Gulf rulers that inadvertently led Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE to take their current shapes. The story addresses the crucial question of self-determination versus 'better together', a dilemma pertinent to anyone interested in the transformation of the modern world.
This book collects Thomas Risse's most important articles together in a single volume. Covering a wide range of issues – the end of the Cold War, transatlantic relations, the "democratic peace," ...human rights, governance in areas of limited statehood, Europeanization, European identity and public spheres, most recently comparative regionalism – it is testament to the breadth and excellence of this highly respected International Relations scholar's work. The collection is organized thematically – domestic politics and international relations, international sources of domestic change, and the diffusion of ideas and institutions – and a brand new introductory essay provides additional coherence. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of International Relations, European Politics, and Comparative Politics.
The feeling of optimism that followed the COP 21 Paris Conference on Climate Change requires concrete action and steadfast commitment to a process that raises a number of crucial challenges: ...technological, political, social, and economic. As climate change worsens, new robust leadership is imperative. This title examines why a close collaboration between the EU and China may result in the necessary impetus to solidify a vision and a roadmap for our common future in the Anthropocene.
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