Organizing European space

Book abstract:

This book is concerned with the various ways in which European space has been organised in the past and present as well as possible future developments. It focuses on the different bases for organising Europe politically and economically throughout the ages and into the new millennium. Combining perspectives from the different disciplines of the authors - political science, history and geography - it provides a comprehensive introduction to 'Europe' or European space as we understand it today.

The book explores four different ways of organising space in Europe: state, union, region and network. It reviews the origins, resilience, and adaptability of the sovereign state historically, before looking at the implications of the contradictory processes of integration and fragmentation, or globalisation and regionalisation, present today. A key concept developed throughout the book is that of networks, especially with respect to the European Union, and the relationship between regions, networks and cities, a relationship long traditional to Europe's political organisation.

Organizing European Space will be essential reading for all students of contemporary Europe seeking a deeper understanding of the modern state and the complexity of changing notions of identity, organisation and territoriality inherent in Europe in the past or in the future.

Christer Jönsson is Professor of Political Science at Lund University. Sven Tägil, historian, is Professor of Empirical Conflict Research at the Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences at Lund University. Gunnar Törnqvist is Professor of Economic Geography at Lund University.