The European Union is a key player in determining policies and politics in Europe, and yet understanding how it works remains a challenge. The Politics of the European Union introduces students to its functioning by showing the similarities and differences between the EU and national political systems. Fully revised and updated in its third edition, this introductory textbook uses the tools of comparative politics to explore the history, theories, institutions, key actors, politics and policy-making of the EU. This comparative approach enables students to apply their knowledge of domestic politics and broader debates in political science to better understand the EU. Numerous real-world examples guide students through the textbook, and chapter briefings, fact files and controversy boxes highlight the important and controversial issues in EU politics. A companion website features free 'Navigating the EU' exercises to guide students in their analysis of EU policy-making.

How do political authorities build support for themselves and their rule? Doing so is key to accruing power, but it can be a complicated affair. The European Union, as a novel political entity, faces a particularly difficult set of challenges. The Politics of Everyday Europe argues that the legitimation of EU authority rests in part on a transformation in the symbols and practices of everyday life in Europe. The Single Market and the Euro, the legal category of European Citizen and policies promoting the free movement of people, EU public architecture, arts and popular entertainment, and EU diplomacy and foreign policy all generate symbols and practices that change peoples' day-to-day experiences naturalizing European governance.The modern nation-state has long used similar strategies of nationalism and 'imagined communities' to legitimize its political power. But the EU's cultural infrastructure is unique, as it navigates European national identities with a particularly banality, trying to make the EU seem complementary to, not in competition with, the nation-states. While this cultural legitimation has successfully underpinned the EU's surprising political development, Europe today is more often met with indifference by its citizens rather than affection. As economic and political crises have stretched European social solidarity to the breaking point, this book offers a clear theoretical framework for understanding how everyday culture matters fundamentally in the political life of the EU, and how the construction of meaning can be a potent power resource-albeit one open to contestation and subversion by the very citizens it calls into being.

Accessible and engaging, this is a complete guide to the past, present, and future of the European Union. An expert author team examine in detail the theory and history behind the EU, before moving on to explore the institutions and policies at work, giving readers a valuable insight to this complicated political body.

This book explores what drives value politics and the way in which it redraws political conflict at EU level. Based on case studies and analyses of statistical data, the book shows what the uses and roles of values have been at EU level over the past decades in both market-related policies and in identity, cultural and morality policies. It challenges the common assumption that the latter is more driven by value conflicts. The research shows the intrinsic similarities between all policy areas regarding the agency and limits of values as drivers of change or continuity. It argues that European values are a broad and flexible symbolic repertoire instrumentalised to serve as a resource for mobilization, legitimation/delegitimation, the conquest and conservation of power. This book will be of key interest to both scholars and students in European studies/politics, comparative politics, public policy, political theory, sociology and cultural studies, as well as appealing to professionals of European affairs within and around the EU institutions.

A substantially revised and updated new edition of this highly-successful and ground-breaking text which analyzes the EU as a political system using the methods of comparative political science.

With its established authority and reputation, the new edition is an invaluable resource. Michelle Cini has brought together a team of international contributors, each specialising in a different field of EU politics. The book is divided into five parts and deals with the history of the European integration process, theories of European integration, the European institutions, a selectnumber of European policy areas, and issues of relevance to the study of EU politics. The second edition has been updated throughout to reflect recent developments, and there are four new chapters on the constitutional treaty, CFSP and ESDP, the single market, and public opinion. This books is supported by a cutting-edge Online Resource Centre. Student resources: Interactive timeline (BRAND NEW HE ONLINE RESOURCE) Interactive map of Europe with facts, key dates and web links for all the EU countries (BRAND NEW HE ONLINE RESOURCE) Maps Case studiesWeb links Information on key articles and books Flashcard glossary Multiple Choice Questions Lecturer resources: PowerPoint slides