Böcker i 21st Century Europe-serien

Europe is imbued with a multitude of social, cultural, economic and political meanings. The authors of this comprehensive text present an authoritative yet accessible introduction to understanding Europe today, moving beyond accounts of European integration to provide a holistic and nuanced study of contemporary Europe and its historical development. This book explores evolving definitions of Europe from antiquity, to the Cold War, right through to Europe in the midst of the Eurozone and global financial crises. By examining the different roles and meanings that Europe has held inside and outside of the continent, including the European Union's 'branding' of Europe, the text grounds its analysis in an understanding of Europes plural. Chapters explore concepts of Europe as civilization, Europe as progress, Europe as unity and Europe as diversity. How do Europeans think of themselves and their respective national identities in a multicultural and multi-ethnic age? How has modernity and the pre- and post-industrial values of Europe affected the Europe of now and what are the political legacies of Europe? To what extent are notions of social solidarity shared across the continent? This is the first text to systematically answer these questions, and others, in order to better determine 'what is Europe?'

This is the definitive textbook on European societies and the changes the continent has experienced in the social sphere during this century. This text is the only single-authored text covering this topic, offering a holistic yet nuanced understanding of the nature of European society and its dynamic nature. Colin Crouch draws on 40 years' experience as a researcher on European societies to explore this diversity across such key areas of life as patterns of birth and death, family, gender, migration, religion, conflict, economy and inequality. Crouch uses an astonishing wealth of empirical data to analyse how European society functions on national, international and continental levels with various state and non-state actors. Through this approach, and by recognising and accounting for the fluidity of society, and enduring influences such as globalisation and security threats, Crouch offers an important contribution to the study of Europe, and a pioneering methodology for the study of social class. This text is an essential for those wishing to be up-to-date in both the topic and the practise of scholarship. This text was designed for upper-undergraduates and postgraduates covering European Society, the Politics and/or Sociology of Europe. It will also benefit all readers studying social class to familiarise themselves with Crouch's innovative methodology and analysis.

Behind the facade of democracy are a number of unanswered questions, foremost among them how to relate democracy beyond the state especially at the EU level to democracy within the state. This important new text provides a wide-ranging assessment of the theory and practice of democracy at all levels in Europe today.

A state-of-the-art assessment of welfare provision, policy and reform at national and at EU level which spans the whole of Europe - East, West and Central. Uniquely broad-ranging in scope, and covering the latest research findings and theoretical debates, it provides a genuinely comparative overview text for students of twenty-first-century Europe.

Set in the context of the rising power of non-Western states and the continuing fall-out from the global economic crisis, this text provides a comprehensive analysis of Europe's new security challenges. Europe's traditional problem of war between states is being displaced by a new and equally daunting set of security challenges.

A broad-ranging assessment of the complex changes in Europe's diverse and complex mix of national and European capitalisms as they respond to the challenges of globalization and from rising powers, of competitiveness, ageing populations and welfare sustainability compounded by the impact of financial, monetary and sovereign debt crises.