Abstract
London: Sage, 2003. 155, ISBN 0 7619 7281 1
Readership: Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, academic/research, professional
Rating: ****
Reviewer: DALE MINESHIMA (University of Limerick)
This book provides a critical evaluation of democratic reform challenges within the EU, with reference to the evolving nature and structure of the EU. Among the current literature on democratizing the European polity, it provides insights into some of the pressing issues to be considered in current discussions on the future shape of the EU. It begins with an examination of the theoretical issues and models that have been, and continue to be, deployed in describing democracy in the EU. It illuminates the divergence in thoughts about the form EU democracy should take, turning away from the ‘state-based models of democracy’ that are restrictive in describing the developments and potential solutions to the obstacles democratizing an organization/system like the EU involves.
Warleigh considers two of the main issues of European integration discussions and what has been acknowledged by many academics and policy-makers as the heart of the democratic deficit dilemma of the EU – the issues of sovereignty and the development of a European demos. His analysis provides sharp insights into the changing nature of the EU and its relationship with its contingent parts (the member states and citizens). He also illustrates the EU's growing competences and the increase in expectations that have partnered these, with examples from the environmental and regional development policy sectors. The book finishes with a placement of his argument and conceptual framework within current EU democracy theories, illuminating the possibilities despite difficulties with current strategies utilised and highlights some ideas for democratic reform of the EU that not only focus on institutional changes, but also considers the furthering of norms and practices for more ‘substantive democracy’ to take hold within the EU. This is an important addition to current literature and will be a key reference for those interested in EU governance and reform.
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. 218, £14.99, ISBN 0 7190 6120 2
Reviewer: RAYMOND KUHN (Queen Mary, London)
This book examines key aspects of the structure and functioning of political parties in contemporary France and investigates the principal factors that shape competition in the party system. The main bulk consists of eight chapters on the political forces of left and right respectively, covering the ideological spectrum from diverse Trotskyist formations to Jean-Marie Le Pen's ‘Front National’. There are also chapters on the evolution of the party system during the Fifth Republic and on the impact of Europe on party behaviour.
The book as a whole acts as a forceful reminder of the diversity of French parties and the tendency in the system towards fragmentation in terms of electoral supply, illustrated by the presentation of no fewer than sixteen candidates in the first round of the 2002 presidential election. In contrast, the institutional constraints of semi-presidential government and the two-ballot electoral system for first-order elections produce a simplifying effect in terms of parliamentary representation. The structural tension in the party system between centrifugal and centripetal forces is a central theme of the book.
The authors generally concentrate on developments over the past decade, including the impact of the 2002 elections. Andrew Knapp, for example, charts the rise of the new catch-most party of the mainstream right, the UMP, while various authors consider the (im)possibility of the moderate left coming together to form a more coherent federation or even single party. Robert Andersen and Jocelyn Evans examine the question of whether the extreme right form a distinctive third pole, controversially rejecting this hypothesis and arguing in favour of a classic bipolar analysis of electoral competition. Overall, this is a highly stimulating analysis of French party politics, and its welcome publication in paperback should make it available to an undergraduate as well as specialist readership.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. 188, £35.00, ISBN 0 312 29631 2
Readership: Undergraduates, advanced undergraduates, postgraduates
Rating: **
Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press, 2002. 315, ISBN 0 226 01051 1
Readership: Postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: ****
Reviewer: MARTIN BULL (European University Institute, Florence)
These are two quite different books, even though they partly cover the same subject matter. The title of Gold's book should probably be reversed to read ‘Contemporary Politics and the Lega Nord in Italy’. It consists of 78 pages on contemporary Italian politics and 42 pages on the Lega Nord. The former pages provide a general explanatory context for the rise of the Lega Nord that is in keeping with much of the literature. The latter pages attempt to explain the Lega's impact on Italian politics. This is done essentially through a chronological account of the party's actions, focusing on the leadership level. There is little analysis of the party's electoral support, membership and organisation. In view of the approach adopted, the book is surprisingly dated. There is a strong focus on the mid-1990s (although not much on the 1994 governing experience), but little on the most recent period (despite the fact that elsewhere in the book it is apparent that it was completed in 2002). There is therefore insufficient explanation of the party's shift away from radicalism, the significance of the 2001 electoral result, the relationship with Berlusconi and Forza Italia, and the Lega's essential dilemmas. This is probably because the research was carried out in 1996–97, although what exactly this consisted of is not clear, as the book seems to be derived almost entirely from secondary sources. Yet it is not without its merits. It places the Lega in a broad national context and provides a good starting point for someone new to Italian politics.
Agnew's book, in contrast, is rich in theoretical and empirical analysis and original in approach. For those already familiar with his work (variations of some of the chapters in this book have previously appeared), he continues his quest to bring ‘place’ into the study of politics by using it to show a new way of thinking about politics, which, he argues, overcomes the problems in rational-actor, political-culture and multicultural models of political action. He rejects two assumptions about place that have long influenced political analysis: the idea that place, understood as national territory, is such an obvious feature of politics that it merits little scrutiny; and the notion that territory is always tied to statehood. Questioning the adequacy of studying politics in purely national-territorial terms, he suggests a ‘multiscalar concept of place as offering greater insight into how politics works’ (p. 217). He sees people as ‘place makers … [who] endow places with meaning and construct their identities in relation to them’ (p. 217). The empirical analysis takes the form of a series of case studies relating to specific aspects of Italian politics, for the most part already researched and explained in the literature. However, using his alternative approach, he sheds new light on them or explanations for them: the weakness of Italian national identity; modernisation and the north–south divide; the geographic structuring of national electoral politics; the ‘red’ and ‘white’ territorial sub-cultures; the displacement of the Christian Democrats by the Northern League in northern Italy; the impact of the Northern League on the political identities of northern Italians; and the ‘reimagining of political space’ by Italy's new political parties since the mid-1990s. Some readers might lament the absence of an overall story about Italy here. But that is not the intention. It is a series of essays, bound together by an innovative theoretical framework, which provide illuminating and different insights into important aspects of contemporary Italian politics. It will be of value to all specialists in Italian politics.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 300, £16.95, ISBN 0 521 00070 X
Readership: Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, academic/research
Reviewer: KURT HIRTLER (University of Leeds)
This is a timely intervention in the burgeoning field of investigations that engage with the failures and horrors of the past century and the resuscitation of myths and growing importance of memories that come along with them in the present. The essays collected here draw on the existing literature on memory in sociology, social psychology, cultural studies and history and form an interdisciplinary attempt to make this research available for the study of recent political constellations in Europe. The essays share the common conviction that memory matters politically and thus aim to explain how memory impacts on domestic affairs and international relations.
The book does not provide a systematic study of the complex relationship between memory and politics; rather, its innovative approach lies in the informed use of theoretical conceptions for the historical and empirical analysis of concrete political phenomena and processes of legitimation in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The case studies cover a variety of countries and topics, ranging from investigations of the impact of the troubled memories of fascism and the holocaust on domestic and foreign policies in Germany, France and Italy, to the relation between myth and nation-building in post-communist societies and to the question of historical experiences for European integration.
Whereas not all contributions fulfil the high critical standards set out in the introduction – the power/memory nexus remains rather under-theorised and a problematic separation of memory from history tends to be taken for granted in some essays – the book very carefully avoids the methodological shortcomings and over-psychologising that is prevalent in much of so-called ‘memory studies’. It provides a well-researched, empirically rich account of the political importance of memory and its consequences for current policy-making.
Notre Dame IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003. 349, $18.00, ISBN 0 268 02276 3
Readership: Postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: ****
Reviewer: ALAN SIAROFF (University of Lethbridge, Alberta)
This collection of carefully researched and well-written essays analyses European Christian Democracy primarily from historical, but also comparative, perspectives. An underlying assumption appears to be, as stated in Martin Conway's excellent contribution, that ‘The age of Christian Democracy in Europe has ended’ (p. 43). The parties and ideas that had so dominated post-war politics in continental Western Europe generally still exist, but they are now clearly weaker. Consequently, this book analyses Christian Democracy as an historical phenomenon; in fact, two-thirds of its contributors are historians, from both Europe and the US.
The book, as the first editor notes, contains four main themes: (i) the historical roots of Christian Democracy going back to the nineteenth century; (ii) the relationship between the Catholic Church and Christian Democracy; (iii) comparative perspectives, including those between Christian Democracy and non-European religious movements; and (iv) the policy goals and legacies of Christian Democracy.
As is common with edited volumes, readers will likely focus just on the specific chapters of their interest. The national case studies themselves are only on France, Germany and Italy. There is certainly much useful material for scholars of those countries; conversely, however, not much information is given on the Benelux countries and almost none on Austria. Thus, a chapter on Christian Democracy in (some of) these smaller countries would have strengthened the book. With respect to religion and politics outside of Europe, interesting comparisons are made in the last two chapters between European Christian Democracy and, respectively, evangelical Protestantism in the US and Islamic parties and the Indian BJP. Finally, given the central role of Christian Democracy in European integration, the chapter by Michael Gehler and Wolfram Kaiser on the evolution of the transnational co-operation of European Christian Democratic parties is a most useful contribution.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. 256, £45.00, ISBN 0 19 925349 8
Readership: Professional
Rating: ****
Reviewer: BASAK KOYUNCU (European Commission Representation to Turkey)
This book focuses on social indicators, which are an important tool for evaluating member states’ level of social development in the EU and for assessing the impact of the EU social inclusion policy. The authors adopt an analytic framework in which they analyse the construction of indicators and examine their implementation in a comparative perspective in the fifteen EU member states. The book will be useful to both policy-makers and non-governmental organizations. It may provide useful guidance for accession countries in identifying social indicators.
The fundamental arguments are the identification of the basic principles for constructing social indicators; the presentation of statistics by counting individuals rather than households; the assesment of reliability of indicators through a systematic validation procedure; and the importance of building up statistical capacity in the EU. The authors provide a constructive background document, a reference work and a critical analysis of social indicators. It is noteworthy for its pragmatic method in examining the basic principles of social inclusion and analysing indicators used in National Action Plans of Social Inclusion (NAPincl) in each member state.
The main weaknesses of the book are that the authors are not particularly critical about the fact that social indicators exclude ethnicity and immigration, which are argued to be the main forms of social exclusion in member states. Moreover, they do not put enough emphasis on the need for active participation by civil society and social partners in the identification of social indicators. The arguments are plausible in general. However, they are not specifically concerned with the use of rather different indicators by member states that might lead to deficiencies in the monitoring phase of social inclusion in the EU. The book is well written in general. However, chapters 4, 5 and 6 are highly technical and may be difficult for the general reader.
Note: The reviewer's views are personal and do not reflect the view of the European Commission.
Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 2002. 396, £19.95, ISBN 0 262 02524 8
Readership: Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: ****
Reviewer: NICOLE LINDSTROM (Central European University)
This book critically examines the idea of Balkan as metaphor – how a geographically and historically defined place has become imbued with multiple and often contradictory meanings. The sixteen contributors draw on a variety of theoretical approaches and disciplinary orientations, with an emphasis on poststructuralist and psychoanalytical theory, to examine a diversity of topics including the Kosovo war, Romanian identity and Balkan film. What makes it particularly innovative is the way in which authors seek to explore the intersections between outside and inside representations of the Balkans, between the global and the local. Some authors offer self-critical reflections on the Balkans from a decidedly Balkan standpoint. Some also implicitly or explicitly explore how the West bears some responsibility for the tragedies that have beset the region over the past decade.
With violent representations of the Balkans dominating local and Western scholarship on the region, it is refreshing to read a work that does not simply rehash the former Yugoslav wars. The discussion of many of the pleasures and charms of the Balkans is welcomed. For example, Stathis Gourgouris's essay compares Western critics’ embrace of Serb musician Goran Bregovic, and his horn-intensive soundtrack of Kusturica's Underground, with the tendency of most Balkan intellectuals to dismiss Bregovic as capitalizing on Balkan stereotypes. Gourgouris suggests that Bregovic's music could be re-signified by Western and local critics alike as a cultural site of genuine resistance and critique against homogenizing global culture.
Like many large edited volumes of this kind, the quality of the contributions is somewhat uneven, with some redundant or disjointed essays. On the whole, the contributors navigate the difficult task of critically examining negative representations while, at the same time, avoiding the danger of reproducing them, with an impressive degree of passion, erudition and circumspection.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. 205, £50.00, ISBN 0 333 91988 2
Readership: Postgarduates
Rating: *****
Reviewer: DAVID TURNOCK (University of Leicester)
Enlargement of the EU to include thirteen new states involves a very long and costly process of regulatory and legal convergence which is considered from the standpoint of the multinational enterprise (MNE) in Central Europe with reference to the underlying argument that ‘the pursuit of competitive advantage by MNEs in international competition has the effect of driving up standards in certain key circumstances (p. 149). Akbar develops a direct relationship between the strategy of a firm and the degree of regulatory convergence by concentrating on three service industries in Hungary where the main strategy of the investor is to supply goods to the local market, so that higher standards are likely to be used as a tool of competitive rivalry with local companies.
The chapters deal with literature review; the empirical setting; the conceptual framework on the relationship between competitive advantage and regulatory convergence; case studies involving banking, electricity and telecommunications; and a final summary of findings based on the key conclusion that, because they come from the EU, many of the MNEs have used the standards they themselves helped to formulate in their competitive struggles with local companies. Unfortunately, the empirical work concerns only one country, even though Hungary is portrayed as a leading recipient of FDI – accounting for half the total gross industrial value added in 1999 – while MNEs are considered largely responsible for Hungary's trade openness, especially with regard to the EU. Equally, although convincing reasons are given for a focus on the service sector where ‘competitive rivalry in service standards is the main form of competition’ (p. 80), it cannot be assumed that other sectors will replicate the experience. However, although the book will appeal mainly to a specialised readership, it is an excellent research study with clear organisation and accessible style.
Copenhagen: Copenhagen Political Studies Press, 2002. 205, DKR 100, ISBN 87 87749 87 4
Readership: Postgraduates
Rating: ***
Reviewer: DAVID TURNOCK (University of Leicester)
This book analyses post-cold war cooperation through the Council of the Baltic Sea States, embracing Germany, Poland and Russia in addition to the five Scandinavian states and the three Baltic states formerly part of the USSR. Following Soviet and Warsaw Pact dissolution, it explains the Baltic integration process from the perspective of structural changes in the international system, with the basic research question: ‘in what way can structural changes explain the constitution of a sub-regional political integration process exemplified by the establishment of the Baltic Sea political regime in the wake of the Cold War’ (p. 4). Thus, the essence lies in the theoretical content which, in the words of a preface by Andrew Moravcsik, ‘demonstrates that realist and liberal forces can be integrated with neo-liberal institutional factors to provide a plausible account of subregional cooperation’ (p. vii).
The first part of the book – on the structuring of the study – provides an introduction, a theoretical context involving arguments on regional integration and a four-step methodological approach. The second part is on model-building, with the modelling of regional intregration – through definition of paradigmatic beliefs and core concepts and an empirical context – and Baltic Sea regime formation approached through a stepwise imaginary model world. The relatively lengthy final part analyses sub-regional political integration, with chapters on the empirical analysis of Baltic Sea political integration, observable and falsifiable empirical hypotheses and a conclusion. Rationalist models of individual and state behaviour certainly appear effective in explaining the Baltic saga, even though cooperation is relatively informal and preferences are complex. Simple game theory is a helpful tool in bridging neo-realist and neoliberal institutional arguments. But although the book will be interesting to the general community of scholars concerned with international relations, the empirical content is inevitably less satisfactory – with national strategies limited to Denmark, Latvia and Russia.
Budapest: Central European University Press, 2002. 465, £39.95, ISBN 963 9241 21 0
Readership: Postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: ****
Reviewer: MARK RYBAR (Comenius University, Bratislava)
This book provides a comprehensive overview and in-depth analysis of the process of roundtable talks between the Communist Party and the opposition that paved the way for democratic transition in 1989 in Hungary. However, it contains several chapters taking a comparative perspective, which makes it more than a conventional collection of contributions devoted to a single case.
The book begins with analyses of the individual parties that participated in the negotiations, explaining the strategies, social backgrounds and political motivations of those representing the Communist Party, the opposition organisations and the so-called third-side of pro-regime associations. The second part considers the institution-building consequences of what were originally temporary arrangements reached in the negotiations. These illustrate well how past models of constitutional solutions influence subsequent institutional choices and how Hungary's ‘supermixed’ electoral system reflected the conflicting preferences of the bargaining parties. In the last part, the importance of the historical and international context of regime change is explained. An excellent chapter on nonelite forces reminds us of the importance of the interplay of the elite and the masses for the success of democratic transition. The book is supplemented by key documents of the negotiations and its chronology and includes biographies of the key participants.
Overall, the book represents a balanced and well-written contribution to the study of regime change, institution-building and elite behaviour. It illustrates well how the Hungarian roundtable talks differed from others in Eastern Europe (comparison with Poland is especially telling) and convincingly argues that elite behaviour was the key variable in Hungary's transition to democracy. The relative autonomy of elites negotiating the foundations of the new political order, however, was constrained by selective involvement of the public, while memories of the 1956 Soviet intervention and the existing international political situation also guided the participants. Even though some chapters are (understandably) mainly descriptive, others provide excellent and well-thought theoretical and analytical accounts. It is an essential reading for anyone interested in the processes of democratisation in Eastern Europe.
London: Continuum, 2003. 730, £29.99, ISBN 0 8264 4910 7
Reviewer: MARÍA INÉS TATO (University of Buenos Aires)
This book sketches a panorama of German history since 1825, after the Napoleonic wars, until the close of the twentieth century, with the problematic reunification. In this ambitious project, Tipton adopts a social-history approach, which includes economic, political, social and cultural dimensions of the past in a comprehensive account, alert to interactions and relationships; he also incorporates the most recent historical trends, such as gender theories, and youth and familiar structure studies. The chapter division is guided by a criterion based on generation ruptures that changed the Germans’ perceptions of the past and the future – the romantic, the revolutionary, the realistic, the neoclassical, the modernist, the expressionist, the Nazi, the socialist, the postmodern, the neo-realistic generations had their own modes of perception and gave their distinguishing hallmark to each period.
Tipton rejects those perspectives that assume the existence of a Sonderweg – a special and exceptional path towards modernization followed by Germany. This presupposes a unique and prescriptive model of development for societies and the existence of a ‘normality’ from which all societies are judged. He discards this hypothesis and places Germany in the context of the varied historical developments of other modern countries, pointing out peculiarities as well as similarities among them.
The book offers, in a very accessible style, an updated synthesis of almost two centuries of German history. In addition, Tipton shows in each chapter the historiographical debates of the time, given the central role played by history in the construction of the alternative national identities. In summary, this is a very useful survey for students and teachers and for any reader curious to learn about the history of an outstanding protagonist of the main events of the modern world.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. 258, £47.50, ISBN 0 333 99043 9
Reviewer: RAYMOND KUHN (Queen Mary, London)
Based on a close examination of the organisation, strategies and impact of environmental protest in France during the past decade or so, this book questions the validity of an undifferentiated macro-level analysis of policy-making in terms of a strong, central, unified state. Instead, it argues in favour of a more differentiated meso-level sectoral approach that incorporates a significant degree of both vertical segmentation (between discrete policy areas) and horizontal fragmentation (across different territorial levels of government). It thus takes issue with the application of a simple political opportunity model to the study of protest movements, arguing that whatever the merits of this approach for cross-national comparative analysis, it fails to account for ‘differences in the outcomes and strategies of different protest movements mobilising on different issues within the same state’ (p. 4).
Using two detailed case studies (the first concerning water resources management and the second a road-building project), Hayes constructs an intricate yet highly readable account of both the complexity of policy-making and the efficacy of social protest. In particular, he emphasises the importance of multilevel governance, brought about by the dual processes of political decentralisation and European integration, which he argues have transformed public policy-making in France over the past twenty years.
This is an excellent scholarly contribution to the literature on the state and policy-making in the Fifth Republic and, as such, will undoubtedly appeal to specialists in French politics. However, it will also be of interest to those working in the broad field of policy analysis, especially in Western Europe, and to those conducting research on new social movements. The material is clearly structured, the arguments cogently made and the writing unfailingly lucid.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 450, £17.99, ISBN 0 19 924836 2
Reviewer: MICHAEL KAEDING (Leiden University, The Netherlands)
This book brings together a large number of academics, both established and relatively new members of the profession. It successfully offers both teachers and students of EU politics an introductory text that is accessible to, and at the same time challenging for, undergraduates coming to the subject for the first time. Although there is no claim that the chapters are comprehensive, they end with questions, a guide to further reading, web links and a detailed glossary, each of which provides an excellent starting point for further study of the EU.
After a short introduction, which introduces some of the basics (the institutions and decision-making procedures in particular), the book is divided into four parts – the history of the European integration process; the various conceptual approaches used by academics to explain European integration and the politics of the EU; the European institutions; and a selected number of European policy areas. Those included are policies on enlargement, external relations, agriculture, social policy, regional policy, justice and home affairs, and economic and monetary union – selected in order to emphasize the very different ways in which policy is made and implemented in the EU. The book would have greater weight if it had considered further policy areas. As a teaching text, there are too many omissions from the list. However, it is readable and should be read. It is certainly a valuable and comprehensive addition to the introductory textbooks of EU politics.
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. 496, £17.99, ISBN 0 7190 5849 X
Readership: Undergraduates, professional
Rating: ****
Reviewer: MICHAEL KAEDING (Leiden University, The Netherlands)
The relations between member states and the EU are an never-ending story. Unlike books on the general structure and culture of European political systems, this one focuses on reactions and adaptations to a challenge that is common to all – the policy cycle of the EU.
After a brief overview of the historical path of the respective country into the European integration process, each chapter in part two refers to the basic attitudes towards, and concepts of, European integration in the member states and considers parties, interest groups and public opinion, which potentially play important parts in the formation of a European polity. Based on the assumption that, in response to para-constitutional changes (the SEA, the Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice treaties), national institutions and actors will have altered their roles and interaction patterns, the major puzzle the authors address is: how do governmental and non-governmental actors in different national settings – involving different national traditions – adapt to common challenges, constraints and opportunities for which they are mainly themselves responsible? Are we witnessing a trend towards a common and unique model, or rather the reinforcement of existing divergences? Will national variations remain? In a country-by-country account, they describe and analyse who participates in which forms and at which stages of the EU policy cycle and thus how national actors interact and fit into the EU system. The quality of country reports varies considerably. However, they are able to describe the long-term trends of the integration process, some over nearly half a century from the early days of the European Coal and Steel Community until the end of the 1990s.
This is a well-researched book and the authors’ knowledge of how national actors interact and fit into the EU system is truly impressive. They successfully explore structural commonalities and differences with a common point of reference and offer a mixture of conventional and specific analyses and insights for different group of readers – scholars of international relations, European integration and comparative politics. It is a well-written descriptive study that leaves us with an opportunity for further discussion and may offer useful reflections for the applicant countries on how to make their systems ‘fit’ for a successful and competitive life inside the ‘Brussels + X’ labyrinth.
Oxford: Blackwell, 2003. 418, £23.99, ISBN 1 405 112328
Readership: Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: *****
Reviewer: MICHELLE CINI (University of Bristol)
This is the product of a conference held in April 2002 at the European University Institute, organised to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Journal of Common Market Studies. The impressive participant list is reflected in both the selection of chapter authors and in the use of short, responsive discussion pieces (two following each chapter).
The book begins by presenting four ‘fundamentals’ – the principles underpinning the EU; methods of European integration; underlying political and social change; and the procedures, rules and practices of policy implementation. These four fundamentals cut across the book's themes, as reflected in its three parts and fourteen chapters. Part One discusses the EU's constitutional and normative foundations, with chapters on the prospects for an EU constitution (Weiler); institutional reform (Olsen); legitimacy (Moravcsik); and social policy (Scharpf). Part Two, said to deal with ‘new dimensions’, focuses on matters of social inclusion (Atkinson); industrial relations (Marginson and Sisson); monetary policy (De Grauwe); and the EU's fiscal rules (Buti and Giudice). Part Three deals with the international dimension and comprises chapters on security and defence policy (Deighton); EU–US relations (Keohane); and ‘narratives of projection’, using EU–WTO relations as a case (Nicolaïdes and Howse). The book concludes with three new pieces, two on democracy and democratic deficit (by Cox and by Mény) and one on Poland's EU membership (Samecki).
Many of these chapters have already appeared as stand-alone articles in the Journal of Common Market Studies. This is not to understate the importance of books that bring together interesting pieces published elsewhere. To my mind, however, the real added value lies in the discussants’ contributions. These work well, contributing to the volume's richness and sophistication, while at the same time giving the reader a taste of the Florence conference.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 351, £50.00, ISBN 0 19 925208 4
Reviewer: MICHELLE CINI (University of Bristol)
Featherstone and Radaelli have put together a thought-provoking and extremely useful book on the politics of Europeanization, in a volume combining both theoretical and empirical chapters. The book is divided into six sections. The first deals with the theorizing of Europeanization and comprises chapters by the two editors (individually) and by Tanja Börzel and Thomas Risse on conceptualizing the domestic impact of Europe. It then moves on to address more empirical issues, focusing on ‘institutional contexts’ – national administrative systems (Hussain Kassim); subnational government (Mike Goldsmith); and concluding with a wide-ranging institutional analysis (Marco Giuliani). The third section, which has as its theme the Europeanization of public policy, begins with a chapter on the defence equipment sector (Ulrika Mörth); a second looks at media regulation (Alison Harcourt); and a third focuses on environmental policies (Markus Haverland). In the fourth section, the focus shifts to interest groups and to chapters by Jürgen Grote and A. Lang and by David Coen and Charles Dannreuther. The fifth section looks at how ‘Europe’ acts as a policy model, with a first chapter taking the case of the European Social Model (Daniel Wincott) and the second the EU accession process (Heather Grabbe).
In the short chapter that concludes the book, the editors address Europeanization's potential as a ‘conversant research agenda’. In concluding that ‘Europeanization is not so much a theory as a distinct set of processes in need of explanation’ (p. 333), they identify many potential foci for research. In seeking to define an agenda, the book clearly goes beyond being a straightforward contribution to the literature. Indeed, I would like to have seen included in this chapter even more of their thoughts on how Europeanization might be studied over the coming decade, as it was this aspect of the book that was particularly stimulating.
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. 231, £45.00, ISBN 0 333 73449 1
Readership: Advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, academic/research, professional
Reviewer: RICK FAWN (University of St Andrews)
In 1995, Czech President Václav Havel said of his people's relations with Germany and Germans (quoting the official English translation) that they have ‘been a part of our destiny, even a part of our identity. Germany has been our inspiration as well as our pain’. This quotation does not appear in this new study, but it could well have to illustrate the centrality of Germans and Germany on the totality of Czech existence. That Germans and Germany have not historically coincided in Central Europe – being both a state (or even two, counting Austria) and an important minority – has been fundamental to the region's history, and Jürgen Tampke's very readable book succeeds in outlining the multitude of manifestations and implications of that relationship.
But this is not simply an historical study, for the subject and its consequences have very tangible contemporary salience not only in bilateral relations but also to an extent in the EU accession process. In particular, Tampke effectively outlines how organizations representing German expellees from, especially, Czechoslovakia have held considerable, but not decisive, sway over federal German dealings with post-communist Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic. Although using some Czech sources and many German sources, specialists may be surprised to find no specific reference to the debates among Czech dissidents in the communist era over collective guilt for both the principle of the expulsion of Sudeten Germans and also some of the violent excesses employed, usually, in the (early, unregulated) process. To that end, although the book refers in depth to current debates and the work of the official Czech–German commission of historians and draws material from German sources, some of the key Czechoslovak and Czech publications, especially those of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, are absent.
To some, the book's topic may seem narrow; it is not. Not only does it address a major current in European history – the fate of a powerful and controversial minority linked particularly to the expansion of Hitlerite Germany – but also its present-day implications are considerable in policy and for the study of minorities and for efforts at historical reconciliation.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 259, £40.00, ISBN 0 19 829325 9
Readership: Postgraduates, academic/research
Rating: ****
Reviewer: MIN SHU (University of Bristol)
Theoretically elaborated and empirically rich, this book offers a rich and up-to-date account of the extreme right in Western Europe. Theoretically, Ignazi not only rigorously traces the ideological source of today's extreme-right mentality, which is much broader than the relevance of neo-fascism, but goes a step further – proposing a two-type classification between traditional neo-fascist extreme-right parties and new post-industrial ones. In the spatial model of party competition, extreme-right parties are usually seen as occupying the right side of the new-politics axis. However, his theoretical exploration points out that the new-politics account is only applicable to the second, not the first, category. Apart from this useful typology, he also compares the competing terms in the field: ‘extreme right’, ‘radical right’, ‘far right’, and ‘populist right’. For the sake of spatial and ‘anti-system’ notations, he argues that ‘extreme right’ provides theoretically more coherent conceptualisation.
Empirically, Ignazi conducts a systematic analysis of the post-war development of extreme-right parties. Case studies cover a number of Western European countries – Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and Mediterranean states. As a result, readers are presented with a broad picture of the evolutionary dynamics of the extreme right in Western Europe. Interesting topics include the ideological bases of extreme-right parties, the social-demographic and attitudinal profiles of extreme-right voters, and the specific conditions under which these parties succeeded in gaining political weights. Nevertheless, the wide-ranging narrative also has its downside. The extensive use of abbreviations denoting party labels (without a separate list of abbreviations) demands certain background knowledge, which unnecessarily narrows down the readership. In recent years, the extreme right has been gaining political strength in the post-cold war Europe. This book is a timely contribution to the academic debate in the field.
Europe
New books received
Belinda Brown (2003) The Private Revolution: women in the Polish underground movement, London: Hera Trust, 166, £9.99, ISBN 0 9523529 23
Marjorie Castle (2003) Triggering Communism's Collapse: perceptions and power in Poland's transition. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 247, £50.00, ISBN 0 7425 2514 7
Kenneth Dyson and Klaus H. Goetz (2003) Germany, Europe and the Politics of Constraint. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 438, £50.00, ISBN 0 19 726295 3
Martin Elvins (2003) Anti-Drugs Policies of The European Union: transnational decision-making and the politics of expertise. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 226, £45.00, ISBN 0 333 98213 4
Mark Gilbert (2003) Surpassing Realism: the politics of European integration since 1945. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 276, £20.95, ISBN0 7425 1914 7
Neil McNaughton (2003) Understanding British and European Political Issues: a guide for A2 politics students. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 283, £9.99, ISBN 0 7190 6245 4
Markus M. Müller (2003) The New Regulatory State in Germany. Birmingham: University of Birmingham Press, 258, £19.95, ISBN 0 902459 19 9
George Pagoulatos (2003) Greece's New Political Economy: state, finance and growth from postwar to EMU. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 271, ISBN 0 333 75277 5
Neill Nugent, William E. Paterson and Vincent Wright (eds) (2003) The European Union: reading on the theory and practice of European integration. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 378, ISBN 1 4039 0422 7
Anne Sa'adah (2003) Contemporary France: a democratic education. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 352, £19.95, ISBN 0 7425 0198 1
Raju G. C. Thomas (2003) Yugoslavia Unraveled: sovereignty, self-determination, intervention. Lanham MD: Lexington Books, 386, £65.00, ISBN 0 7391 0517 5
Loukas Tsoukalis (2003) What Kind of Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 240, £25.00, ISBN 0 19 926666 2
Sarah Waters (2003) Social Movements In France: towards a new citizenship. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 181, £45.00, ISBN 0 333 77043 9