Book Review: Mark Corner, The European Union: An Introduction
| Author | Simeon Mitropolitski |
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929916676746 |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsEurope |
Political Studies Review 15 (1)
controversies of the on-going European inte-
either towards a supranational ‘super-state’ or
gration process in the post-1992 era, rather
towards turning into a simple discussion forum.
than as a comprehensive theoretical lens able
The author consecutively adopts an histori-
to capture the European integration phenome-
cal, institutional and policy-focused approach
non as such.
in discussing the nature of the EU. First, he
To explain the process of what one may regard
tells the story of political development in
as ‘deniable integration’ within the past 25 years,
Europe since the seventeenth century and the
the ‘new intergovernmentalism’ deploys the cate-
need for sharing sovereignty in the aftermath
gory of ‘de novo bodies’ (like the European
of the Second World War. Second, he describes
External Action Service, the European Central
the anatomy of the central EU institutions,
Bank, the European Banking Authority, the
such as, but not limited to, the European
European Food Safety Agency and the European
Commission, the European Parliament and the
Stability Mechanism) and traces the patterns of
Council of Ministers. Finally, Corner defends
‘deliberation versus consensus’ in the recent inte-
his central thesis by providing examples from
gration advances within several EU policy areas.
the common agricultural policy (CAP), the
In so doing, the book hardly develops a new meth-
regional policy and the external relations of
odology (since it relies largely on the apparatus of
the EU, among others. His book is aimed at
governance theory). Nor does it succeed in escap-
academic readers, both faculty and students,
ing inevitable comparisons with intergovernmen-
and also the general public with a specific
talism’s antecedents (including first and foremost
interest in European issues.
Andrew Moravcsik’s liberal intergovernmental-
Corner claims to present an innovative the-
ism) or the inheritance...
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