This book explores the phenomenon of regionalism. In a seeming contradiction to globalization, there is a growing tendency for countries to enter into regional arrangements as a response to the pressures of operating in a global marketplace. But regionalism is also emerging as a phenomenon in its own right, serving distinct purposes and taking different forms in different areas. The contributors explore how these patterns impact on wider issues such as global governance, democracy and trade.

The book reviews the major theoretical approaches to regional cooperation including perspectives...

This accessible and innovative book recognizes that the European Union is now of crucial importance to the whole continent, and analyses the situation in both the East and the West. It offers a thorough discussion of issues such as the euro, social policy, democracy and security, and includes areas that are often overlooked: cultural policy; language; policing; and the specific experience of small states. By analyzing past trends in European unity and disunity European Integration in the Twenty-first Century also offers stimulating insights into possible developments in the future. Finally,...

Spain and the EU takes the country's accession to the European Community in 1986 as its starting point and traces the changes in the national and regional economy, the shifts in national economic policy, and the fundamental restructuring of a public sector only recently enlarged as a result of the country's transition to democracy. The book identifies the challenges that continue to confront the Spanish polity under monetary integration in the pursuit of convergence towards the EU model, while retaining national cohesion. Aimed at an academic and general audience, the issues raised in this...