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An accessible yet thorough look at how historians and social scientists have thought and written about the history of the present-day European Union, and the main themes of their research and debates. Essential reading for historians of Europe and social scientists of the European Union alike.

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European integration has had, and is continuing to have, an enormous impact on the state of Europe: through transforming the nation-state; creating new supranational institutions and joint policy-making; integrating markets and liberalizing trade; fiscal redistribution; and through fostering the formation of transnational elite networks and growing identification with Europe; but also through accentuating social friction; raising concerns about the remoteness of supranational policy-making and serving as a focal point for ´Eurosceptic´ political mobilization. Thus, it is increasingly crucial for researchers, students and citizens to understand the complex history of the present-day European Union. This book provides them with a highly accessible state of the art introduction to how historians and social scientists have conceptualized, written about, and debated this increasingly shared contemporary history of Europe since World War II. A comprehensive and accessible look at how historians and social scientists have thought and written about the present-day European Union, and the main themes of their research and debates

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Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Abbreviations Introduction; W.Kaiser & A.Varsori From Normative Impetus to Professionalization: Origins and Operation of Research Networks; A.Varsori From Pioneer Work to Refinement: Publication Trends; K.Seidel From Isolation to Centrality: Contemporary History meets European Studies; W.Kaiser Between Political Commitment and Academic Research: Federalist Perspectives; D.Pasquinucci At the Heart of Integration: Understanding National European Policy; M.Gehler Governing Europe: Charting the Development of a Supranational Political System; P.Ludlow The European Rescue of the Nation-State? Tracing the Role of Economics and Business; M.Rasmussen Formation of a European Society? Exploring Social and Cultural Dimensions; L.Mechi Partners and Rivals: Assessing the American Role; M.Gilbert Foreign Policy Beyond the Nation-State: Conceptualizing the External Dimension; G.Garavini Bibliography Index

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MICHAEL GEHLER Professor of Modern History, University of Hildesheim, Germany MARK GILBERT Associate Professor of Contemporary History, University of Trento, Italy GIULIANO GARAVINI Lecturer of History of International Relations, the University of Calabria, Italy PIERS LUDLOW Reader in International History, London School of Economics, UK LORENZO MECHI Senior Lecturer of History of International Relations, the University of Padova, Italy DANIELE PASQUINUCCI Associate Professor of Contemporary History, the University of Siena, Italy MORTEN RASMUSSEN Assistant Professor, the Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark KATJA SEIDEL Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the German Historical Institute in Paris, France

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