The European Union: A Critical Guide

The European Union: A Critical Guide

by StevenP.McGiffen (Author)

Synopsis

The political dynamics of the European Union can often appear confusing, shrouded as they are in complex legislative processes. This book offers a clear and thorough critical introduction to the origins, development and current direction of the EU, and pinpoints the major policy debates animating decision-makers.

This revised and updated edition offers a well-illustrated analysis of each of the EU's major policy areas, and covers arguments both for and against the EU. McGiffen explores subjects including enlargement, internal and external security, the Euro, trade, the environment, employment, transport and regional policy. He explains how and why the debate about membership is frequently and falsely presented as if it were a conflict between 'nationalism' and 'internationalism', and argues instead that the EU is merely one of a number of possible solutions to the the economic and political problems facing Europe.

Published in association with Spectre.

$34.40

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Edition: 2nd Revised edition
Publisher: Pluto Press
Published: 20 Oct 2005

ISBN 10: 0745325068
ISBN 13: 9780745325064

Media Reviews
'A clear and compact oversight of the working of the different policy areas of the European Union' -- Dusnieuws
'This critical guide to the EU is an attempt to explain how the EU really works from the euro and CAP to qualified majority voting and foreign policy. It draws both on experience and on research from an impressively wide range of sources' -- Tom Easton, LOBSTER
'McGiffen writes with great clarity and an accessible prose style. He includes the key facts, but is concise enough to ensure that he is never boring' -- Roger Helmer, These Tides
'Gives voice to a kind of criticism of the EU largely marginalised in the political debate' -- Millennium, Journal of International Studies
Author Bio
Steven P. McGiffen is a writer and translator based at the American Graduate School in Paris. He has previously worked for the United Left Group in the European Parliament, as an advisor to the Socialist Party of the Netherlands and as editor of Spectre, a radical left on-line magazine. He is the author of Poisoned Spring (Pluto, 2009) and The European Union (Pluto, 2005).