This book seeks to comprehend the evolving nature of the European Union following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the failure of the European Constitution. Its prime focus is the last wave of enlargement that has profoundly transformed the EU. Although there are many parallels between the
European integration process and state building processes, the Union is nothing like a Westphalian super state. The new emerging polity resembles a kind of neo-medieval empire with a polycentric system of government, multiple and overlapping jurisdictions, striking cultural and economic
heterogeneity, fuzzy borders, and divided sovereignty. The book tries to spell out the origin, the shape, and the implications of this empire.
The aim of this book is to suggest a novel way of thinking about the European Union and the process of European integration. The book shows 'two
Europes' coming together following the end of the cold war. It proposes a system of economic and democratic governance that meets the ever greater challenges of modernization, interdependence, and globalization. It identifies the most plausible scenario of promoting peaceful change in Europe and
beyond. The author argues that mainstream thinking about European integration is based on mistaken statist assumptions and suggests more effective and legitimate ways of governing Europe than through adoption of a European Constitution, creation of a European army, or introduction of a European
social model.
The book covers many fields from politics, and economics to foreign affairs and security. It analyzes developments in both Eastern and Western Europe. It also gives ample room to both theoretical and empirical considerations.
Preface
Introduction: The Neo-Medieval Paradigm
1. Return to Europe
2. European Power Politics
3. Diversity and Adaptation
4. Economic Governance
5. Democratic Governance
6. Governance Beyond Borders
7. Implications of Neo-Medievalism
Bibliography
There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.
Jan Zielonka is Professor of European Politics at the University of Oxford and Ralf Dahrendorf Fellow at St Antony's College.
