Britain and the European Community The Politics of Semi-Detachment [Hardcover]

With the impending unification of the European economic markets in 1992, the role of individual states within the European Community has become an important yet rarely studied area of European politics. The contributors to this collection of papers apply a domestic policy approach to European affairs in an attempt to illuminate foundations of British policy in the European Community. Three themes are identified and pursued--the attempts of the central government to act as a gatekeeper between the British political system and the European Community in order to protect British sovereignty; the emergence of varying rates of adaptation to membership in different sections of government and politics; as well as Britain's apparent semi-detachment from the mainstream of European integration. Within this framework, the contributors examine ways in which central departments of state, local government, Parliament, political parties and the general public opinion all have influence on policy.

This is a splendid collection of essays....The tension between actors with competing agendas is of profound interest not only to students of Britain or the EC, but to anyone interested in the relationship between foreign and domestic policy. --Choice

A highly readable, well-researched, and very informative work on Britain's difficult relationship with the European Community. Required reading for any in-depth course on the politics of the E.C. --John Farrenkopf,University of Virginia