P. Close - Böcker

Looking at the implications of the evolution of the European Union and the emergence of European supra-citizenship for the people of Europe, this book addresses the way in which these implications are crucially mediated by inequalities according to social class, age, race and gender. An analytical framework is presented in terms of which European society, processes and change are decisively shaped within a hierarchy of political communities and conflicts, and driven by fundamental societal contradictions. Attention is paid to conceptual and theoretical issues, and there is a critical examination of the impact of social policy, motivated by a commitment to European integration and supra-citizenship in so far as these things benefit the people of Europe, especially the disadvantaged and excluded.

The doctrine of supranationalism has been most evident in Europe, but has become increasingly a global tour de force . Supranationalism is the ideological driving force behind the process of European integration and so the European Union, the first supranational regional regime (SRR). But the same doctrine has bequeathed other gifts to the world and to posterity. The EU is evolving as a prominent global player, and as a result appears to have become an inspiration and model for the proliferation of other SRRs and proto-SRRs. However, as SRRs acquire greater power relative to 'traditional' global players such as nation-states, a further state of development has ensued, entailing the creation of supranational global regimes (SGRs), signalled by the progress of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation.