Ireland and the European Union

ISBN-13: 9781403949288 / Angielski / Miękka / 2008 / 256 str.

Brigid Laffan

Opis

Ireland's membership in the European Union has coincided with its transformation from a peripheral poor state into a dynamic economy with a level of wealth in line with the union's core states. This has led to great interest in the Irish model among other poorer, small state members of the EU--especially those in the 2004 accession round. In this major new assessment, Brigid Laffan and Jane O'Mahony provide a systematic analysis of the impact of the EU on Ireland and Ireland's impact on the EU.

Spis treści

Introduction.- Becoming a Member State.- Ireland's EU Experience.- Managing Europe.- Parties and Parliament.- Referendums and Public Opinion.- Territorial Politics.- The EU and Irish Public Policy.- Irish Foreign Policy in the EU.- British-Irish Relations: The European Dimension.- Ireland as a Model?.- Ireland: A Small State in a Large Union.

O autorze

BRIGID LAFFAN is Principal of the College of Human Sciences and Jean Monnet Professor in European Politics at University College Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

JANE O'MAHONY is Lecturer in European Politics at the University of Kent, UK.

Blurb

Recent times have witnessed a dramatic turn around in Ireland's fortunes. From being a poor and peripheral state, it has emerged as a prosperous, dynamic and self-assured player among the nations of Europe. For many, the Irish experience provides a model of the potential rewards of European integration. But, just how far are changes in Irish society the result of EU membership? What difference has the EU made to Ireland and, for that matter, Ireland to the EU?

This major new study of Irish-European relations provides a rich account of Ireland's membership of the EU and the impact of the EU on the institutions, policy and economy of Ireland It will be read with benefit by all who want to further understand what Europe means for Ireland and those wanting to learn from Ireland's experience in a comparative context.