Europe Rethinking the Boundaries

First published in 1999, Europe: Rethinking the Boundaries explores the themes of boundary and identity from cultural, political, sociological and historical perspectives. The volume highlights the multiplicity of approaches and the complexity of the understanding of what is Europe, while at the same time presenting a coherent theme of boundary which is both thought-provoking and comprehensive. It focuses on Europe’s changing boundaries and the "clash of civilisations" thesis, the European transformation of the nation state, rethinking European peripheries and European Union (EU) enlargement, the Mediterranean boundaries of the EU, Balkan boundaries, Europe and the "Islamic threat", German foreign policy and European security, and the neutrality of Austria, Finland and Sweden in the EU. Europe: Rethinking the Boundaries will appeal both to informed generalists and to students and scholars of Europe who seek an analysis of the issue of boundaries from a variety of perspectives. It is a timely collection of up to date commentary and analysis from a team of experts which provides a fresh approach to the discussion of boundaries in Europe. It points to pressing issues facing Europe at a difficult and challenging time.

1. Introduction. Philomena Murray. 2. Europe’s Changing Boundaries and the ‘Clash of Civilisations’ Thesis. Leslie Holmes. 3. The European Transformation of the Nation State. Philomena Murray. 4. An Ever Closer Union? Rethinking European Peripheries. Rémy Davison. 5. The Mediterranean Boundaries of the European Union. F. Damaso Marengo. 6. Balkan Boundaries: Writing History and Identity into Territory. Glenda Sluga. 7. Europe and the ‘Islamic Threat’: Putting the Spectre into Perspective. Jeremy Salt. 8. German Foreign Policy and European Security. Christopher Barrett. 9. Reinventing Neutrality – the Case of Austria, Finland and Sweden and the European Union. Christine Agius.

Philomena Murray is Australia's foremost academic expert on the European Union and she holds the only European Union Jean Monnet Chair in Australia. She is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Contemporary Europe Research Centre at the University of Melbourne, where she is also Head of the Research Unit on the European Union. Leslie Holmes is Professor of Political Science and Deputy Director of the Contemporary Europe Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. He has researched communism and post-communism for almost forty years. He is the author of The Policy Process in Communist States, Politics in the Communist World, The End of Communist Power, Post-Communism, and Rotten States?