Currently, the EU is confronted with dramatic financial challenges testing the endurance of its foundations. While some may question the prospects of a stable EU and even foresee disintegration, the logic underpinning its regional integration endures. Ginsberg offers a comprehensive overview of the EU along with a wealth of informative charts and tables as well as thought-provoking study questions that ultimately underscore the enduring logic of regional integration in this easily accessible, detailed-oriented second edition of a textbook designed for students taking courses on European integration. Bound by shared geography, history, religions, economy, and civilization, the EU is not an accident of history but a history of dialectical unity and disunity. Accordingly, the comprehensive overview begins with a historical perspective of the EU that spans 2,000 years and then turns to the political thought and political theory associated with European integration. In addition to examining the legal and economic foundations of the EU, the volume, from a policy-making perspective, continues with a detailed explanation of the decision-making processes and the relevant political institutions and concludes with a discussion and assessment of policy outcomes. Recommended.

Choice Reviews

This book provides a lucid—and much needed—'demystification' of the European Union. Anyone interested in the EU will find this book extraordinarily worthwhile for introducing the reader to the history, the policies, the politics, and the international relations of a unique and very important actor in the world.

Alberta M. Sbragia, University of Pittsburgh

Demystifying the European Union is a rare and wonderful find—a highly readable, provocative textbook full of useful and usable information. I thoroughly enjoyed the approach, which thankfully gets away from some of the traditional textbook format. Ginsberg's aim to 'demystify' the EU through an interdisciplinary and comparative approach is to be greatly commended. His comparison of EU governmental institutions to those of the United States sheds much light on the governmental features unique to the EU. A must read for students and instructor alike.

Glenda G. Rosenthal, Columbia University

Roy Ginsberg is the premier American scholar on the European Union. Better than anyone, he has elaborated the sui generis nature of an institution in which independent Member States have pooled their sovereignty in certain areas and retained it in other areas. But in his newest book, he has emphasized how this unique regional integration has grown over time, not just in the number of Member States, but in the development and maturity of its institutions. The breadth of his scholarship and his impact on transatlantic relations are astonishing. This book is yet another of his seminal works and a must-read for anyone interested in understanding one of the most important and least understood institutions in the world, the European Union.

Stuart E. Eizenstat, White House Domestic Policy Adviser to President Carter and author of President Carter: The White House Years

A clear, in-depth account of the process of European integration. . . . Very well written and extremely well organized, Ginsberg's book provides students of European integration with a fresh approach to issues such as political unity, political thought, decision-making, and international security. . . . A must read for anybody interested in European studies.

Gabriela Marin Thornton, EU Center of Excellence, Texas A&M University

The best undergraduate text I have ever seen on European integration. It's easy to read, and I was so pleased to see the glossary and bolding of terms such as 'comparative advantage' and 'globalization.' Too often, books on the EU assume knowledge of such terms, and I spend most of my class explaining their European context.

Stephanie Anderson, University of Wyoming