Britain and the Crisis of the European Union

by Baker, David; Schnapper, Pauline

• ISBN13: 9781137005199
• ISBN10: 113700519X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-08-05
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book focuses on the effects of the political and later economic crisis which has seriously affected the European Union and its impact on the seemingly endless UK debate over Britain's position within the EU.

Long described as an 'awkward partner' and in spite of Tony Blair's half-hearted attempts to engage with his partners during his time in office, the UK under the Coalition government has become further estranged from other members states and EU institutions with potentially damaging consequences for the UK and the future of the EU itself.

This volume analyses the way the sovereign debt crisis, in particular, has fuelled the further rise of radical euroscepticism in the UK against the backdrop of a deepening crisis of the British political system and wider questioning of the European project across the EU.

Author Biography

David Baker is a retired professor of Politics from the University of Warwick. In 1991 he founded (with Professor Andrew Gamble) the 'Members of Parliament Group' which researched the influence of euroscepticism on the major UK political parties, with a special focus on the Conservative Party. His research is based upon a political economy approach.

Pauline Schnapper is a Professor of British Studies at the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3 and a fellow of the Institut Universitaire de France.

Table of Contents

List of tables and figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. A Multi-Faceted Crisis
2. Britain and Europe in a new Global Environment
3. Notes on Theory and Method
4. Intergovernmentalism and Historical Institutionalism
5. Comparative and Historical Political Economy
6. Outline
PART I: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE EUROZONE CRISIS
7. The Eurozone: A Crisis Waiting to Happen
8. The EZ Crisis – An Analytical Chronology
9. Phase One: From Maastricht to Meltdown
10. Phase Two: The Sovereign Debt Crisis
11. Solutions become problems
12. European Integration – From Embedded Liberalism to Variegated Neoliberalism
13. Conclusion: Winner Takes All, But at What Cost ?
PART II: BRITISH PREFERENCES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: UNSUNG SUCCESS
14. Consequences of a Late Entry 1945-79
15. The Conservative Governments 1979-97
16. The New Labour Years
17. The Convention and Constitutional Treaty
18. Conclusion
PART III: EUROSCEPTICISM IN BRITAIN
19. British Euroscepticism
20. Divisions about Europe 1945-88
21. Blair and New Labour: An End to Divisions ?
22. The Conservative Party after 1997: the Drift towards Hard Euroscepticism
23. Public Opinion since the late 1990s
24. Conclusion
PART IV: THE CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
25. Disillusionment and the Strains in the Political System
26. Fragmentation and Polarisation
27. The Effect of National and Global Trends
28. The Rise of Populist Parties
29. The Political Use of Referendums
30. Devolution and the Possible End of the British State
31. Conclusion
PART V: BRITAIN AND THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
32. An Ongoing Academic Debate
33. Consequences of the Financial and Economic Crisis
34. Attempts to Respond to the 'Democratic Deficit'
35. Domestic Crises and the Fear of Globalisation
36. Conclusion
PART VI: BRITAIN AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
37. The View from London
38. British Exceptionalism in the EU
39. Nation and Atlanticsm: the Exceptional Community
40. Nationhood and Sovereignty
41. A Alternative for Britain in the Global Economy ?
42. Hyperglobalism
43. Open Regionalism
44. Intergovernmentalism
45. Hyperglobalism: Will Winner Take All ?
46. Cameron's Diplomacy in Europe and the Failure of Tory Statecraft
47. Semi-Detachment or 'Brexit' ?
Conclusion
Bibliography