The European Union: Politics and Policies (Paperback)

by John McCormick (Author)
Key Phrases: national government ministers, more enlargement, empty chair crisis, United States, The European Union, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"'This is the best introductory text on the policies and politics of the EU that I have come across...It deserves to be widely adopted as essential course reading'. Political Studies" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
One of the most widely used introductions to the politics and policies of the European Union, and one of the few written specifically for American students, this new edition of John McCormick's book brings the remarkable story of European integration up to date. Covering the history, governing institutions, and policies of the EU, McCormick argues that the EU is an economic and political superpower, has brought far-reaching changes to the lives of Europeans, and has helped the twenty-seven member states to take a newly assertive role on the global stage. Unlike other books on the EU, this text pays particular attention to the implications of the EU for the United States.

Thoroughly revised and updated, the fourth edition addresses developments in the debate about the character and significance of the EU, changes to the structure of EU institutions, the implications of the 2004 and 2007 enlargements, and key policy developments.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Westview Press; Fourth Edition edition (December 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813343763
• ISBN-13: 978-0813343761
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,495 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great learning tool!, April 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The European Union: Politics And Policies (The New Europe : Interdisciplinary Perspectives) (Paperback)

John McCormick's book on European Union policy and politics is a great book for people who want to learn more about the EU. The book is broken up nicely into three parts: Part One deals with the evolution of the European Union and gives a good background on how the European Community began in the 1950's; to the evolution of the European Union up and through the Treaty of Maastericht. Part two discusses the institutions of the EU. The EU Parliament, Commission, Council of Ministers, Court of Justice, and the European Council; the book tells how each one works and what roles each body plays in government and politics. The third and final section talks about EU policies...from Education through Economics all EU policies are broken down and analyzed in the book. I think the book is a great tool for students learning about the EU and people who take an interest in European Politics. Believe me when I say..."you won't be dissappointed."

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent, But Not Great, January 10, 2007

By	Andrei Bolkonski - See all my reviews

This review is from: The European Union: Politics and Policies (Paperback)

For my class on European Politics, we used this and European Politics Today (3rd Ed.). Of the two, and in regard purely to the EU, this one is more preferable as it expounds with greater depth into the nature of the competing "ideologies" of the European integration movement's direction.

It has several drawbacks, however. For one, it's rather outdated by now: it was published when the EU Constitution (the first one, for future readers) was still being drafted and when the 10 eastern countries have just joined (not to mention Bulgaria and Romania). Hence, it does not at all treat today's pertinent issues like Turkish membership, what it means to be a European in that respect, and what efforts the EU has made recently to answer that question.

That could be fixed with a new edition. Another issue with it, however, is that a lot of its explanations on treated topics are sparse and never go beyond the elementary. Explaining the TEU, for instance, it merely lists in a bullet-tab format a handful of its consequences. To get a full picture of it, or anything beyond the basics, one has to resort to other sources.

Hence, this book is a good guide to the EU, and probably one of the better ones available out there, but it is not at all capable to teach an eager student about the union on its own.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good tool for learning about the EU., January 6, 2000

By	Michael J. Berquist (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The European Union: Politics And Policies (The New Europe : Interdisciplinary Perspectives) (Paperback)

I took a course on the European Union at the University of Pittsburgh with only the dimmest idea about what the EU was about. This book, one of the books assigned for the course, is a very readable, very understandable dissection of the EU's history, its structure and its internal politics. I highly recommend to anyone reading about the EU for the first time or taking a class on the EU.