This book explores what drives value politics and the way in which it redraws political conflict at EU level. Based on case studies and analyses of statistical data, the book shows what the uses and roles of values have been at EU level over the past decades in both market-related policies and in identity, cultural and morality policies. It challenges the common assumption that the latter is more driven by value conflicts. The research shows the intrinsic similarities between all policy areas regarding the agency and limits of values as drivers of change or continuity. It argues that European values are a broad and flexible symbolic repertoire instrumentalised to serve as a resource for mobilization, legitimation/delegitimation, the conquest and conservation of power. This book will be of key interest to both scholars and students in European studies/politics, comparative politics, public policy, political theory, sociology and cultural studies, as well as appealing to professionals of European affairs within and around the EU institutions.

This book presents a fresh examination of the values and principles that inform EU foreign policy, exploring the implications of these values and principles on the construction of European Union identity today. The authors show how current debates on European Union foreign policy and on European identity tend to be kept separated, as if the process of identity formation had only an internal dimension or it was not related to the external behaviour of an international actor. Conceiving EU foreign policy in its broadest context as a set of political actions that are regarded by external actors as ‘EU’ actions, the book focuses on both Pillar I and Pillar II policies, involving EU and member state actions and material political actions and less material ones such as speech acts. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective and drawing on political science, political economy, sociology, environmental science and women’s studies, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of European studies and politics.

This book analyzes the place and influence of religion in European politics. François Foret presents the first data ever collected on the religious beliefs of European decision makers and what they do with these beliefs. Discussing popular assumptions such as the return of religion, aggressive European secularism, and religious lobbying, Foret offers objective data and non-normative conceptual frameworks to clarify some major issues in the contemporary political debate.

Redefinitions of EU borders (enlargements, Brexit), geopolitical challenges (conflicts, migrations, terrorism, environmental risks) and the economic and financial crises have triggered debates on the common values that hold European countries and citizens together, justify public action and ensure the sustainability of European governance. This book discusses the genesis of and increasing references to "European values", their appropriation by diverse groups of actors and their impact on public action. It argues that European values are a broad and flexible symbolic repertoire, instrumental to serving diverging ends, and a resource for both negotiation and conflicts. Looking at the broader picture, the book reflects on the role of values in the institutionalization of the EU as a political order and paves the way to an assessment of its singularity in comparison with other polities across time and space. This text will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners in EU politics, comparative politics, IR, public policy, sociology and cultural studies.

This book explores how the European Union designs its trade policy to face the most recent challenges and to influence global policy issues. It provides with an interdisciplinary perspective, by combining legal, political, and economic approaches. It studies a broad set of trade instruments that are used by the EU in its trade policy, such as: trade agreements, multilateral initiatives, unilateral trade policies, as well as, internal market tools. Therefore, the contributions to this volume present the EU’s Trade Policy through different lenses providing a complex view of it.

This volume approaches the current crisis of solidarity in the European Union from a multidisciplinary perspective. The contributions explore the concept of solidarity, its role in the European integration process, and analyze the risks entailed by a lack of solidarity. Experts from various academic fields, such as political science, law, sociology, and philosophy, shed new light on contemporary challenges such as the migrant and refugee crisis, the Eurozone crisis, nationalist and separatist movements, and Brexit. Finally, they also discuss different solutions for the most pressing problems in EU politics. The book has two main aims: Firstly, to show that solidarity is a key element in solving the EU’s contemporary problems; and secondly, to reveal how the crisis of solidarity has become a crucial test for the integration project, as the nature of the crisis goes beyond the well-known shortcomings in the EU’s structure and problem-solving capacities.

This book examines the link between political identity and legitimacy in the European Union. Stimulated by the crisis of legitimacy and identity suffered by the EU after the referenda on the Constitutional Treaty, the editors have developed a theoretical framework to examine the interplay between these two items in the problematic development of the EU into a fully-fledged political actor. The contributors to the volume seek to: Redefine the key notions in the rigorous way of political philosophy, thus avoiding the generic or imprecise language usage found in a large part of political science literature on identity Test these concepts in the analysis of EU policies that may reveal the world views and the principles upon which EU legislation is based, and whose degree of acceptance on the side of the citizens is an indicator of how far a shared political identity has developed. Featuring case studies on foreign and environmental policy, biosafety policy, biotechnology regulation, civil society, human rights promotion, as well as studies on the role of memory, space and external views on the process of European identity-building, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of political science, political philosophy, European politics and European Studies.

Covering the history, governing institutions, and policies of the European Union, Jonathan Olsen and John McCormick present the EU as one of the world's economic and political superpowers, which has brought far-reaching changes to the lives of Europeans and has helped its member states to take a newly assertive role on the global stage. Unlike most other books on the EU, this text pays particular attention to the implications of the EU for the United States. Thoroughly revised, with new photographs and updated tables and figures, the sixth edition of The European Union explains developments that have brought severe challenges to the Union, such as the Greek crisis, the Brexit, tensions with Russia over Ukraine, and new waves of refugees into Europe. Essential reading for students of European politics, this book offers an up-to-the-minute look at both the opportunities and existential threats facing this powerful institution.

Divisions in the EU are considered, as well as the conflicts that have arisen from enlargement and foreign policy concerns. Leading specialists on European politics and society reflect on the nature of consensus and competition between elites, and whether the EU may be able to provide a sense of common identity and purpose for its citizens.

For years the European Union has been looked on as a potential model for cosmopolitan governance, and enjoyed considerable influence on the global stage. The EU has a uniquely strong and legally binding mission statement to pursue international relations on a multilateral basis, founded on the progressive development of international law. The political vision was for the EU to export its values of the rule of law and sophisticated governance mechanisms to the international sphere. Globalization and the financial crisis have starkly illustrated the limits of this vision, and the EU's dependence on global forces partially beyond the control of traditional provinces of law. This book takes stock of the EU's role in global governance. It asks: to what extent can and does the EU shape and influence the on-going re-ordering of legal processes, principles, and institutions of global governance, in line with its optimistic mission statement? With this ambitious remit it covers the legal-institutional and substantive aspects of global security, trade, environmental, financial, and social governance. Across these topics 23 contributors have taken the central question of the extent of the EU's influence on global governance, providing a broad view across the key areas as well as a detailed analysis of each. Through comparison and direct engagement with each other, the different chapters provide a distinctive contribution to legal scholarship on global governance, from a European perspective.