Britain and European Unity 1945-1999, 2nd ed.

Book abstract:

'Britain and European Unity 1945-1999' provides an historical survey of British policy towards the question of European unity from 1929 when a French foreign minister first suggested a European Federation, to 1999, when the single currency, the Euro, was launched. The main focus is on the development of policy at government level after 1945, but attention is also paid to pressure groups, the press and public opinion. As with other books in this series, 'British History in Perspective', the purpose is to introduce the reader not only to the principal events in British relations with the European unity movement, but also to the debates on this subject between historians and political scientists. However, the nature of this debate changes as the book proceeds, principally because European unity is a recent issue, mainly confined to the post-war period.

Fully revised and updated, this second edition explains, amongst other things, why Britain did not become a founder member of the European Community in the 1950s, what motivated France to prevent Britain from joining in the 1960s and why, since 1973, most British governments have found it hard to commit to a European future.

The book will be extremely useful for students both of post-war British history and politics and European integration in general.

The author is Professor of Politics at the University of Leicester.