The European Union

Brent F. Nelsen is Professor of political science at Furman University, USA. His writings focus on European integration, religion and politics in Europe, and European public opinion.


Alexander Stubb is Prime Minister of Finland. Previously he served as Finland's minister for European affairs and foreign trade (2011-2014), and before that as minister of foreign affairs (2008-2011) and as a member of the European Parliament (2004-2008). He is author of several books on European integration.

This new edition of the leading reader on European Integration makes conveniently available to students the key texts of politicians and scholars. The first section, presents the key visions of the primary shapers of the union now including the reflections of current European leaders on the crisis in Europe. The second and third sections bring together the seminal work of early scholars as they struggled to understand postwar European integration and influential work from the 1980s and 1990s. The final - comprehensively revised and updated - section explores recent theoretical developments in scholarship.

This new edition of the leading reader on European Integration makes conveniently available to students the key texts of politicians and scholars. The selection of readings has been updated throughout and now includes the reflections of current leaders and scholars on the implications of the crisis in Europe.

An extensively revised and updated new edition of a leading text that provides key texts from scholars and politicians on the European Union, now taking full account of the crisis in Europe

Preface.- PART I: VISIONS OF A UNITED EUROPE 1. Ventotene Manifesto; A.Spinelli and E.Rossi.- 2. The Tragedy of Europe; W.S.Churchill.- 3. The Schuman Declaration; R.Schuman.- 4. Preambles to the Treaties Establishing the European Communities (Treaties of Paris and Rome).- 5. A Ferment of Change; J.Monnet.- 6. A Concert of European States; C.de Gaulle.- 7. Preamble to the Single European Act.- 8. A Family of Nations; M.Thatcher.- 9. A Necessary Union; J.Delors.- 10. Preamble to the Treaty on European Union (The Maastricht Treaty).- 11. February 15, or What Binds Europeans Together; J. Habermas and J. Derrida.- 12. Preambles to the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe and the Treaty of Lisbon.- 13. Reflections on the Crisis in Europe J. Barrosso; H. Van Rompuy; A. Merkel; J. Hollande; D. Cameron; R. Sikorski; A. Stubb.- PART II: EARLY CURRENTS IN INTEGRATION THEORY 14. Altiero Spinelli and the Strategy for the United States of Europe; S.Pistone.- 15. A Working Peace System; D.Mitrany.- 16. Political Community and the North Atlantic Area; K.W.Deutsch et al.- 17. The Uniting of Europe; E.B.Haas.- 18. Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation; State and the Case of Western Europe; S.Hoffmann.- 19. The Theory of Economic Integration: An Introduction; B. Balassa.- 20. Of Blind Men, Elephants and International Integration; D. Puchala.- PART III: EUROPE RELAUNCHED 21. European Community and Nation-State; J. Pinder.- 22. 1992: Recasting the European Bargain; W. Sandholtz and J. Zysman.- 23. Integration, Supranational Governance, and the Institutionalization of the European Polity; A.Stone Sweet and W.Sandholtz.- 24. The Choice for Europe; A.Moravcsik.- 25. Europe Before the Court; A. Bailey and W. Mattli.- 26. The Study of the European Community; S. Hix.- 27. Multi-level Governance in the European Union; L.Hooghe and G.Marks.- PART IV: CURRENT DEBATES IN INTEGRATION THEORY 28. The Next Europe: Toward a Federal Union; N. Berggruen and N. Gardels.- 29. The Governance Approach to European Integration; M.Jachtenfuchs.- 30. A Certain Idea of Europe; C. Parsons.- 31. A Postfunctionalist Theory of European Integration; L. Hooghe and G. Marks.- 32. What is European Integration Really About? A Political Guide for Economists; E. Spolaore.