European integration and the postmodern condition: Governance, democracy, identity

Book abstract:

Until recently, sovereignty of the nation state has been defined largely by territory but technological development has reduced the power of territory as we see the knowledge industries leading the march to globalisation. If power moves from the nation state how will the institutions of power adapt to meet the new challenges?

This book examines those challenges and the shaping influence they may hold over European integration. The rise of other new influences having a regional and cross border authority will have important implications for the democratic process and the role to be played by the West in world politics. The author develops these arguments over seven chapters which cover: European integration and the challenge of postmodernity; Globalisation and Europeanisation; European identity beyond the state; Sovereignty, territoriality and the representation of political space; European governance and the pursuit of promiscuous policy-making; Europe's essential vacuum: Democracy and citizenship as political derivatives; Europe and/as the Other: Alterity, enmity and cultural hybridness.

The work will interest students, researchers and practitioners in the field of European Studies, comparative politics and International Relations.

Peter van Ham is Professor of West European Politics at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

• Primary Source