Insightful and engaging, this is the most complete guide to the past, present, and future of the European Union. An expert author team examines in detail the theory and history behind the EU, before moving on to explore the institutions and policies at work, giving readers valuable insight into this complicated political body.
Key Features:
- An accessible yet thorough guide to the history, theory, institutions, and policies of the European Union, ideal for those studying the European Union for the first time.
- An expert author team uses clear, straightforward language to ensure that students fully understand the complex functions of the EU.
- Features four chapters dedicated to theory, each including a range of examples of the practical workings of the EU to help you apply theoretical perspectives to the real world of politics.
New to this edition:
- A new section (Part Five: Challenges and Prospects) includes a new chapter, Chapter 25, which reflects on the state of the contemporary EU following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the re-election of Donald Trump to the US presidency.
- The history chapters have been re-organized, and Chapter 9 on recent crises has been updated to include developments such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- A new history chapter, Chapter 10, considers the main historical drivers of European integration.
- The theory section has been refreshed - in particular, new material in Chapter 4 on post-colonial perspectives.
- The institutions chapters have been updated to reflect the European Parliament elected in 2024 and the reappointment of Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President.
- The policy section includes new insight boxes throughout on contemporary themes and issues.
Digital formats and resources
The sixth edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats: the e-book and Politics Trove offer a mobile experience and convenient access along with self-test questions, functionality tools, navigation features and links that offer extra learning support. For more information about e-books, please visit www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks
Owen Parker, Simon Bulmer, Charlotte Burns
Owen Parker is Senior Lecturer in European Politics at the University of Sheffield. Before moving to Sheffield in 2012 he was a Research Fellow at the University of Warwick. Prior to that, he worked for the European Commission in Brussels, Directorate General for Enlargement, on Turkey's bid for EU membership (2003-6). He has published on a range of themes related to the EU, including theories of governance, political economy, Brexit and migration. His current, more narrowly focused, research and policy work focuses on the challenges encountered by marginalised EU citizens in the post-Brexit United Kingdom.
Simon Bulmer is Emeritus Professor of European Politics at the University of Sheffield. Having held lectureships at Heriot-Watt University and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), he moved to the University of Manchester in 1989, and was Professor of Government from 1995. He has held a Jean Monnet ad personam chair since 1999 and has been an Academician of the Social Sciences since 2001. He retired from Sheffield in summer 2020. He has been a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe Bruges, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (the German Institute for International and Security Affairs), Berlin, and at LUISS Guido Carli University, in Rome.
Charlotte Burns is Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield. She has taught at the Universities of Aberystwyth, Leeds, and York on EU and European politics and policy, and environmental politics and policy. Before entering academia, she worked in the European Parliament in Brussels for the Chair of the Environment Committee. She has published widely on EU decision making, the powers and the environmental behaviour of the European Parliament, and the impact of the economic crisis upon European environmental policy. She has recently worked on the impact of Brexit upon UK and EU environmental policy.
