Understanding the European Union: a concise introduction

This is the must-have, leading introduction to the European Union. Offering an ideal primer on the EU's history, institutions, and politics, this concise textbook also covers the various challenges and opportunities faced by the EU, from the democratic deficit and the potential of future enlargement to the spread of nationalism and crises such as Brexit and the impact of the global pandemic. Understanding the European Union is now more crucial than ever, and this text provides a succinct but nuanced account of its development and how it works. This book will be the ideal guide for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses in political science, global affairs and European Studies. It is also a suitable starting point for anyone seeking to learn more about the EU.

With 27 member states and nearly half a billion residents, the European Union is a major actor on the world stage. It has changed the way Europeans live, as well as the way the rest of the world relates to Europe. Yet it remains widely misunderstood and a source of puzzlement to many: How does the EU work, and what impact has it had on the lives of Europeans? What difference has it made to the meaning of 'Europe'? How has it changed the role of Europe in the world? Written for anyone who needs a short and clear introduction to the EU, John McCormick's best-selling tex

An immediate best-seller on first publication, the comprehensively revised, expanded and updated second edition of John McCormick's Understanding the European Union provides a uniquely broad-ranging but concise introduction to the EU. Rather than focusing just on the politics or the economics of the EU or on detailed coverage of its institutions and/or policies, the author covers in one volume all major aspects of European integration combining a very clear and accessible thematic narrative with boxed summaries of a wide range of essential facts and figures

Despite the plethora of textbooks available on the European Union and the wide range of interdisciplinary and non-specialist courses on which it is studied, there has, surprisingly, until now been no single text providing concise coverage of all its major dimensions and implications. Rather than focusing just on the history or the politics or the economics of the EU or on detailed coverage of its institutions and/or policies, John McCormick's new book introduces all aspects of European integration combining a very clear and accessible thematic narrative with boxed summaries of a wide range of essential facts and figures