British Government and Politics

Balancing Europeanization and Independence

By (author) Michael L. Mannin

Publication date:

16 January 2010

Length of book:

408 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742536845

This deeply informed text sets the government and politics of Britain firmly in the context of Britain's enduring membership in the European Union. Michael L. Mannin thoroughly applies the concept of "Europeanization" across the political system to explore how far change is a product of Britain's interdependent relationship with the EU. He shows how the EU's treaty relationships present new challenges to sovereign states, especially Britain, whose psyche has long revolved around iconic notions of Parliamentary sovereignty, imperial power, national independence, and an assumed cultural homogeneity. Examining the cultural, economic, and social background to Britain's twenty-first century politics, Mannin challenges some of the historical myths on which Britain's exceptionalism is founded. He then analyzes contemporary political institutions and processes in the context of Europeanization, as well as the impact of the EU on policy and policy making. Ideal for courses in British and European politics, this book breaks new ground in exploring the complex interdependence that the EU should bring to the study of European political systems.

Introduction: British Politics and Europe
Chapter 1: The Development of the British State: Stories and Models
Chapter 2: Economic and Social Change
Chapter 3: British Politics and Constitutional Change
Chapter 4: Parliamentary Representation and the Legislative Process
Chapter 5: Beyond Parliament: Multilevel Representation
Chapter 6: Parties and Why Citizens Vote for Them
Chapter 7: Participation, Pressure Groups, and the Media
Chapter 8: The Executive: Managing Decline in a Shrinking World?
Chapter 9: The British State and the Policy Process
Chapter 10: Economic Policy in Britain
Chapter 11: British Environmental Policy: From Smog to Sustainability
Chapter 12: Britain's Foreign Policy and External Security
Chapter 13: A Conclusion—and Postscript
Appendix: The European Union: An Official Interpretation
References

This interesting, prescient, and most timely book argues that the political world has been 'turned inside out.' Since the European financial crisis and the May British election, the political world is more topsy-turvy. Happily, Mannin's book is a good guide to this world. British politics, he argues, cannot be understood without fully appreciating the EU's impact. European integration is 'an integral aspect of "what happens"'—of 'how things are.' While he acknowledges other international and domestic forces, his starting point is the 'unusual condition' of EU membership. A textbook, it is formulaic (chapters in tidy order on economy, constitution, parliament, parties, executive, etc.). But Mannin differs by putting the impact of the EU front and center. Thus, constitutional reform cannot be seen as distinct from 'the notion of European integration.' He covers institutions, politics, and policies (economic, environmental, and foreign). Recommended.