The Role of Small States in the European Union de Baldur Thorhallsson

The Role of Small States in the European Union

Baldur Thorhallsson

A fully documented text which addresses a key issue of EU decision-making which is surfacing again in proposed institutional reforms. It looks at the role of smaller states, deals with the important criteria of distribution and redistribution of EU budgetary expenditures in the key areas of agriculture and structural funds and explains how smaller states promote their interest more effectively than larger states. It focuses on the administrations of small states, their relations with the Commission and their negotiation tactics in the Council. This is the first attempt to empirically test Peter Katzenstein’s thesis on the role of smaller states in international relations by making important recommendations on how the core assumptions of Katzenstein need to be modified, especially when applied to the EU context. This work is a good supplementary text book for courses on European studies, comparative politics and international relations. It is particularly suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.

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Cuprins

Contents: Introduction; The conceptual framework; The range of interests of smaller states; The prioritization of smaller states in the common agricultural policy and the regional policy; The administrative working procedures of member states; The relationship between member states and the European Commission; The flexible and inflexible negotiation approaches; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Recenzii

’The book makes an essential contribution to our understanding of small states in European affairs. It provides a timely account on the importance of small states in European Union decision making.’ Emil J. Kirchner, University of Essex, UK ’This book is an important contribution to the field of European studies, showing that there are substantial differences in the way small states and large states approach decision making in the European Union. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the impact of size in politics and administration and all students of European decision making should find it extremely rewarding reading.’ Dr. Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson, University of Iceland, Iceland

Notă biografică

Baldur Thorhallsson, University of Iceland, Iceland. Doctor of Philosophy in Goverment (Political Science) at the University of Essex, Department of Government. Master of Arts in Western European Politics at the University of Essex. Batchelor of Arts in Political Science from the Faculty of Social Sxcience, University of Iceland.