First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 2005. The author’s intention was to write a history of the greatest economic boom in European history, of that unique, ugly and triumphant experience of the 1950s and 1960s which changed so utterly the scope of human existence and expectations as well as the consciousness of the people of western Europe. But it became clear that this extraordinary boom had one other attribute as unique as the remarkable length of time over which the growth of output, incomes and wealth lasted.

Based on a wide range of archival sources, this book analyses the response of the most peripheral country in Western Europe, Franco's Spain, to the challenges of increasing economic interdependence from the end of World War II to the establishment of the EEC, 1945-57. In so doing, the author sheds new light on the fundamental question of the survival of the Franco regime and stimulates further discussion on the external factors responsible for Spain's pattern of economic growth after 1945.

The emergence of the European Union has become one of the defining events of the late twentieth century, changing the way Europeans relate to each other and the way the rest of the world relates to Europe. Already an economic superpower, the EU is now building the foundations of political union among its fifteen member states.This new text provides a valuable introduction to the institutions and policies of the EU. Clear and succinct, The European Union: Politics and Policies is the first text of its kind written specifically for U.S. students and the first to take account of the 1995 enlargement. Combining description and analysis, the author provides an accessible guide to a phenomenon that is complex and ever changing and that has growing significance for Europeans and Americans alike.

Taking a thematic approach, this keenly awaited new edition addresses the major political and economic developments in Western Europe since World War II, right up to the present day. The book covers issues and developments in national politics, the movement towards greater unity in Western Europe, and the role of Europe in global politics and in the international economy. The test has been revised throughout and updated to take account of the political consequences of the ending of the Cold War and the troubled progress of European integration since Maastricht.

Studie over de complexiteit van de Europese eenwording en de informele machtscircuits gebaseerd op ruim 400 interviews en het archief van de Confederation of British industry