Substance and symbolism: An anatomy of co-operation in the New Europe

Book abstract:

The end of the Cold War in 1990 had a significant impact on the process of European integration by creating a whole new set of conditions in Europe and opening up the possibilities for the European Union of further integration to the Central and Eastern European countries.

This book focuses on the responses of the European Community's Member States to the prevailing conditions in post-Cold War Europe. It argues that intergovernmental co-operation amongst EC states in the immediate post-Cold War era was achieved through the agreement of symbolic, yet insubstantial new policy areas. It further suggests that ten years on these symbolic agreements are becoming more substantial, thus moving the focus away from material gains and towards subjective beliefs.

The book covers five cases of European co-operation in the period 1989-2000: climate change policy; asylum policy; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; defence policy.

The author, Ian Manners, argues that these five cases indicate the move from largely symbolic to increasingly substantial intergovernmental co-operation amongst European Union Member States.

This book will be useful to students of European integration particularly interested in the post-Cold War period in Europe and in the type of co-operation between Member States.