Ireland, Small Open Economies and European Integration Lost in Transition

David Begg examines how four small open economies- Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland- have managed the stresses and strains of Europeanisation since the single market came into being, and as fault lines begin to appear within the European integration project. In particular, he drills down into the Irish Polity to see how its institutions have engaged with Europe and how decisions on critical issues like integration, EMU and Social Partnership were reached. He finds that both Ireland and Europe are at a critical juncture for different but interconnected reasons, and identifies the options that are available to them.

1. Introduction
2. Katzenstein's World
3. 1994-2001: The Age of Employment Miracles
4. 2001-2008: European Integration Intensifies
5. Beyond 2008: Coping with the Crisis
6. Unpacking Ireland's Polity from a New Institutionalist Perspective
7. Conclusions

David Begg is the Director of TASC (Think Tank for Action on Social Change), Ireland, a small independent think tank which generates ideas to challenge inequality and promote a flourishing society. Until March 2015 he was General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, a position he held for fourteen years. Before that he spent five years working in International Development as Chief Executive of Concern Worldwide. He holds a PhD in Sociology and a Masters Degree in International Relations.