Customer Reviews

The European Union: Readings on the Theory and Practice of European Integration

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This review is more of a greater explanation of the contents, rather than analysis of the material selected, because it's been a while since I read this and the book contents are unable to be searched on here.

The first section of the book gives the title of the book a misnomer, which is comprised of direct speeches given by the early (1930s - 1950s) thinkers and leaders (Spenelli and Rossi, De Gaulle, and others) and contemporary ones (Blair, DeLors, Fischer) in what is now known as the European Union. Additionally, the preambles of the Nice and Maastrich Treaties were included. The preambles and speeches provide a valuabl, first-hand source on the leaders' views of integration and how the EU wanted to integration to take place.

The second section provides an analysis of early integration theories (economic integration) and the effects of integration in the EU (the fate of the nation-state). There are 7 articles in this section.

The last section has more analytical approach to contemporary theories (functionalism, neofunctionalism) of integration and levels of governance within the EU.

For each reading, the editors provide a brief explanation of the and a small historical background of author and the reading, which is valuable for readers, especially those with a minimal background on the European Union.

Since this collection is focused on integration, I was a bit surprised there was not anything (to the best of my knowledge) regarding the Euro (the common currency) or migration policy. Overall, I rate this a 3.5 stars, rounded to four on Amazon.