Networking Europe: Essays on Regionalism and Social Democracy (Liverpool Studies in European Regional Cultures, 6)

by Eberhard Bort (editor), Neil Evans (Editor)

Based on papers given at annual symposia held at Freudenstadt throughout the 1990s, this book contributes to a view of the future of the European Union that stresses the need for more democracy and for a conception of Europe that emphasizes its diversity. A wide range of issues are explored: inter-regional partnerships; working-class experience in the regions; questions of heritage and identity; European policies such as the Social Chapter and the Single Market; women’s work and life; and issues stemming from racism such as the integration of refugees.

"The book is a rich mine of information and ideas... essays which collectively have a good balance of theory and empiricism, and individually sustain interest more than enough to make the reader wish to have been there to hear them delivered in their original form."—Regional and Federal Studies

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Eberhard ‘Paddy’ Bort (1954 - 2017) was Convener and Director of Studies of the Academy of Government’s Parliamentary Internship Programme. His teaching at Edinburgh University included Scottish Society and Culture, Contemporary Irish Politics, The Politics of Borders, and British Studies. He was also Book Reviews Editor of Scottish Affairs. Before coming to Edinburgh in 1995, he worked at Tübingen University in British and Irish Studies with Professor Christopher Harvie and taught in German Studies at Trinity College, Dublin, and at the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington, USA.

Bort was active in initiatives such as Nordic Horizons and the Scottish Rural Parliament and played an important role in shaping the European social democratic and Nordic models for an independent Scotland.

He was a key figure in the Edinburgh folk scene and ran the Wee Folk Club at The Royal Oak on Infirmary Street, Edinburgh, every Sunday night.