Politics in the European Union

by Ian Bache, Stephen George

Clearly structured into four parts, covering the theory and history of European integration, and the institutions and policies of the European Union, this text combines current academic debates with empirical data and offers a significantly expanded and more diverse discussion of EU theories
than the previous edition.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, International Relations, Political Science, Sociology

650 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of two such books I bought on sale for a fraction of the cover price. At the price I paid it was a real bargain. A textbook on European politics, it covers the history of the European union, how the institutions evolved and developed, how they work, the political context in which they arose and how the policy areas of the union developed too.

If you are not interested in EU politics, it will not be for you, and yet having read it, I am aghast at how little of this information is ever taught or disseminated to the public. No wonder our EU debates are so uninformed and so easily hijacked by propagandists.

To be clear, this is not a blindly pro-EU textbook. The book describes EU successes and failures. It describes problems that had to be addressed. The chapter on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was the most enlightening read I can remember on the subject, explaining how and why the CAP was first created and why it caused food mountains, and how successive reforms were required to fix this, and how these were implemented over the last couple of decades. It is clear that the EU did engage in dumping of products, but also explains how this was stopped (and why).

That level of analysis is maintained throughout. This book describes the EU, warts and all, but would completely skewer and lay to rest so many ridiculous old canards from the Brexit debate.

A very interesting work that will sadly not get much attention because it is, after all, a text book on a subject that most people are not really very interested in.

[Daniel Mardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I will say although it may be a bit of a dry read. If you want to understand the fundamentals of the European Union’s functions and powers in society it’s a very informative start. I would say particularly from a regulatory and political perspective, monetary policy not covered however, it breaks down the systems pretty well. If you like EU politics and need to understand the fundamentals this is the book for you! If not dont read !

[Meihan Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent textbook.

[Vincent V · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I can finish this book, then nothing ought to be impossible for me.

[Au · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think I have ever found a book so tedious to complete.