The Christmas Eve pub-crawl had always been an enjoyable distraction; a chance to relax in familiar company and, for a while, to forget about the chaos of Belfast in the 1980s. One year, however, as love rears its ugly head, the day and the pub-crawl start to unravel and, as everyone will soon discover, nothing will ever be the same again.

This is the only book to provide an account of how popular theatre developed from the fairground booths of the eighteenth century to become a vehicle of mass entertainment in the following century. Whereas other studies offer a traditional approach to the theatres of high culture, John McCormick takes the role of impartial historian, uncovering the popular theatres of the boulevards, suburbs and fairgrounds. He focuses on the social and economic context in which vaudevilles, pantomimes and melodramas were performed, and explores the audiences who enjoyed them.

Rather than focusing on a single area of the EU, or on detailed coverage of its institutions or policies, McCormick's book introduces all aspects of European integration, combining a clear and thematic narrative with essential facts and figures.

In this insightful and engaging new book, John McCormick argues that the current climate of gloom makes it more important than ever to remind people about the achievements of Europe. The book makes a clear and unequivocal case that shows how the EU, in spite of its problems, has made Europe a better, more peaceful, and more prosperous place.

In this important new book, McCormick argues that the EU has become an economic and political superpower, whose new global role calls into doubt most of the recent assessments of unipolarity in world politics and American 'Empire'. In his inimitably clear and accessible style, McCormick shows how the rise of Europe has been underplayed.

As Britain prepares to vote on its continued membership of the EU, this insightful and engaging book sets on the arguments in favour of Britain's continued place in the EU and shows how the EU, in spite of its problems, has made Europe a better, more peaceful, and more prosperous place.

This best-selling textbook provides a broad-ranging but concise introduction to the EU, covering all major aspects of European integration. The revised new edition takes full account of the current challenges faced by the EU, including the ongoing difficulties in the eurozone and the rise of euroscepticism, which culminated spectacularly in Brexit.

This textbook provides a multidisciplinary introduction to Global and International Studies. Offering unrivalled breadth and depth, it covers all the key dimensions of the topic, including broad introductions to international politics and economics, and focused surveys of topics from human rights and migration to conflict and the environment. John McCormick's lucid writing style renders complex information understandable to all students. Full-colour photographs, maps, tables and figures bring the subject to life and innovative pedagogical features emphasize the importance of understanding...

This revised and updated edition of a core textbook - one of the most well-established texts in the field of comparative politics - offers a comprehensive introduction to the comparison of governments and political systems, helping students to understand not just the institutions and political cultures of their own countries but also those of a wide range of democracies and authoritarian regimes from around the world. The book opens with an overview of key theories and methods for studying comparative politics and moves on to a study of major institutions and themes, such as the state,...