Politics in the European Union

by Simon Bulmer, Owen Parker, Ian Bache

Politics in the European Union is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the EU. Unique in its in-depth coverage of the history of the EU, the book explores a wide range of topics including institutions and policies, making it a complete guide to understanding the complex nature of the EU.

Now in its fifth edition, the text has been fully updated to include coverage of Brexit, the refugee crisis, and political developments within member states.

The text is enriched with a wide range of learning features, including end of chapter questions, which are designed to stimulate critical thinking, suggested further reading, EU timelines, and illustrative figures to help students take their learning further.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, International Relations, Political Science, Sociology

632 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Stephen]

This is one of two such books I bought on sale for a fraction of the cover price. At the price I paid it was a real bargain. A textbook on European politics, it covers the history of the European union, how the institutions evolved and developed, how they work, the political context in which they arose and how the policy areas of the union developed too.

If you are not interested in EU politics, it will not be for you, and yet having read it, I am aghast at how little of this information is ever taught or disseminated to the public. No wonder our EU debates are so uninformed and so easily hijacked by propagandists.

To be clear, this is not a blindly pro-EU textbook. The book describes EU successes and failures. It describes problems that had to be addressed. The chapter on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was the most enlightening read I can remember on the subject, explaining how and why the CAP was first created and why it caused food mountains, and how successive reforms were required to fix this, and how these were implemented over the last couple of decades. It is clear that the EU did engage in dumping of products, but also explains how this was stopped (and why).

That level of analysis is maintained throughout. This book describes the EU, warts and all, but would completely skewer and lay to rest so many ridiculous old canards from the Brexit debate.

A very interesting work that will sadly not get much attention because it is, after all, a text book on a subject that most people are not really very interested in.

[Daniel Mardi]

So I will say although it may be a bit of a dry read. If you want to understand the fundamentals of the European Union’s functions and powers in society it’s a very informative start. I would say particularly from a regulatory and political perspective, monetary policy not covered however, it breaks down the systems pretty well. If you like EU politics and need to understand the fundamentals this is the book for you! If not dont read !

[Meihan Liu]

Decent textbook.

[Vincent V]

If I can finish this book, then nothing ought to be impossible for me.

[Au]

I don't think I have ever found a book so tedious to complete.