Publisher's Synopsis
Many theoretical explanations have been offered for the rise of the European Community, but historical analysis is rarely used to define the deeper significance of the events surrounding Maastricht. In this book however, the authors explore the process of European integration, and its future, drawing on extensive empirical research into the national archives of the member states. New evidence of the relationship between national and political strategy and the European Community, in Britain, Denmark, France, Italy and the United States, is used to reveal how interdependence and integration work in practice. The historical record implies that the Community does not supersede but reinforces the sovereign nation-state, and that European integration in various forms is initiated by national rather than supranational considerations.
