Rethinking Europe: Social Theory and the Implications of Europeanization - Tapa dura

'Rethinking Europe provides a thought-provoking and important contribution to European studies. In this book, Gerard Delanty and Chris Rumford propose to develop a new vision of Europe. This vision does not focus on defining what is distinctivelyEuropean but explores the cosmopolitan quality of Europe.'

- Milena Büchs, University of Southampton

Rethinking Europe makes a valuable contribution to the question of how political entities such as nation states, the European Union and a ‘global polity’ are related to ‘society building’. - Sociology, Book Reviews

Dominant approaches to the transformation of Europe ignore contemporary social theory interpretations of the nature and dynamics of social change. Here, Delanty and Rumford argue that we need a theory of society in order to understand Europeanization. This book advances the case that Europeanization should be theorized in terms of:

• globalization 
• major social transformations that are not exclusively spear-headed by the EU
• the wider context of the transformation of modernity.

This fascinating book broadens the terms of the debate on Europeanization, conventionally limited to the supersession of the nation-state by a supra-national authority and the changes within member states consequent upon EU membership.

Demonstrating the relevance of social theory to contemporary issues and with a focus on European transformation rather than simplistic notions of Europe-building, this truly multidisciplinary volume will appeal to readers from a range of social science disciplines, including sociology, geography, political science and European studies.