The Political Economy of the Eurozone in Central and Eastern Europe

The Political Economy of the Eurozone in Central and Eastern Europe
Author: Krisztina Arató
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2021-06-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 042953700X

The idea for this volume came from the enigma that some Central and Eastern European (CEE) European Union (EU) member states have been keen to join the Eurozone while others have shown persistent reluctance. Moreover, the attitudes towards joining have seemingly not correlated with either the level of economic development or the time spent as part of the EU, nor with any other rational reason such as the level of integration into the EU real economy, or the level of trust in the EU on the part of the public. Therefore, at first sight, the answer to the question ‘why in, why out?’ remains rather unclear. The attractiveness of the currency union has nevertheless not disappeared for the CEE countries. Despite the Eurozone crisis of 2010–13, it was during that time that the Baltic states introduced the euro. Then, after a few years of inactivity, Croatia and Bulgaria successfully applied for membership of the exchange rate mechanism in July 2020, amid the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the same time, the three Visegrad countries still using their national currencies – Poland, Czechia and Hungary – no longer have a target date to join the monetary union. This volume aims to discuss these issues from horizontal aspects and through country studies, with contributions from expert authors from, or closely related to, the CEE region.

European Union Political Economy

European Union Political Economy
Author: Konstantinos Hazakis
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 367
Release: 2018-09-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498560067

The European political economy: policy and theory, provides students, researchers and policy makers with a profound understanding of the theory and policy of the EU. The book covers in a comprehensive way the key issue areas of the European Union activity and it includes an analysis of all the important current developments in Europe such as the Brexit, the European Union sovereign debt crisis, the European economic governance problems and the macroeconomic adjustment challenges within Eurozone. The book also includes critical resources for readers and students such as review questions, appendixes, references and further reading lists. More specifically, the textbook explains thoroughly the institutional, economic and policy characteristics of the fundamental issue areas of European economy. It outlines the institutions and mechanisms of European union/Eurozone, the common agricultural, regional and trade policies, the impact of the single market and the single currency on European economy, the enlargement process and the key questions on the European macroeconomic adjustment process. In each chapter the book explains not only what is taking place in European economy but also which the feasible options of the European policy agenda are. The textbook enables readers to apply conceptual and theoretical knowledge to economic and political processes of European integration.

The Political Economy of Normative Trade Power Europe

The Political Economy of Normative Trade Power Europe
Author: Arlo Poletti
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 135
Release: 2018-05-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319788647

This book critically engages with a long tradition of scholarly work that conceives of the European Union as a peculiar international actor that pursues a value-based, normatively oriented and development-friendly agenda in its relations with international partners. The EU is a pivotal player in international trade relations, holding formidable power in trade but also exercising substantial power through trade. Trade policy therefore represents a strategic field for the EU to shape its image as a healthy economy and a global power. In this field, the EU has declared a twofold ambitious goal, namely that of fostering economic growth in Europe while, at the same time, promoting development and growth abroad, both in developed and developing countries. In other words, the EU aims to increase its competitiveness in world trade while acting as an ethical and normative power. Here, Poletti and Sicurelli explore the tension between these two roles.

Political Economy of Europe

Political Economy of Europe
Author: Hardy Hanappi
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2021-11-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 100045147X

The development of European unification has reached a critical stage. Despite 75 years of peace, increases in welfare, and growth since World War 2, there is now a growing scepticism of the European agenda from various quarters, most notably embodied in the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. To fully understand the dynamics at work, this book presents an introduction to the development of the political economy of Europe from 1900 to 2020. The first part of the book provides an overview of European economic and political history from 1900 to the present. It is clear from this history that Europe’s population, and most notably its leaders, have been deeply influenced by ideology during this time. This sets the context for the second part of the book, which takes a closer look at some major paradigms framing European dynamics: (1) the market-oriented paradigm, (2) Marx’s paradigm, and (3) the fascist paradigm. In this part, the essential core of each of these paradigms is presented and critiqued. In the third part, the current bottlenecks of European evolution (the migration crisis, Brexit, rise of new Fascism, the climate crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic) are investigated in the light of a possible emergence of a new scientific paradigm. Europe’s role in the global division of labour – its possibility to serve as a role model for the advantages of democratically governing a highly diverse set of populations – is also explained. This book is an ideal text for students undertaking courses on the political economy of Europe in either economics or politics departments.

New Political Economy of Energy in Europe

New Political Economy of Energy in Europe
Author: Jakub M. Godzimirski
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2018-09-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3319933604

This edited collection details and analyses the dramatic changes that the international political economy of energy has undergone in the past decade. This change began with the increasing assertiveness of Russia when the oil price rose above the $100 mark in 2008. This, combined with the rise of shale oil and gas, made the USA all but self-sufficient in terms of fossil fuels. The collapse of the oil price in 2014-15, Saudi Arabia’s new strategy of defending its market share and the increasingly tense and controversial relationship between the West and Russia all worked to further strengthen the geopolitical dimension of energy in Europe. The global result is a world in which geopolitics play a bigger part than ever before; the central question the authors of this volume grapple with is how the EU – and European small states – can deal with this. Chapter 4 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

The Political Economy of European Security

The Political Economy of European Security
Author: Kaija Schilde
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2017-09-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1107198437

Looks at how EU political institutions in security and defense have developed through the political economy of interest group intermediation.

The Political Economy of Middle Class Politics and the Global Crisis in Eastern Europe

The Political Economy of Middle Class Politics and the Global Crisis in Eastern Europe
Author: Agnes Gagyi
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2021-08-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030769437

Contrary to dominant narratives which portray East European politics as a pendulum swing between democracy and authoritarianism, conventionally defined in terms of an ahistorical cultural geography of East vs. West, this book analyzes post-socialist transformation as part of the long downturn of the post-WWII global capitalist cycle. Based on an empirical comparison of two countries with significantly different political regimes throughout the period, Hungary and Romania, this study shows how different constellations of successive late socialist and post-socialist regimes have managed internal and external class relations throughout the same global crisis process, from very similar positions of semi-peripheral, post-socialist systemic integration. Within this context, the book follows the role of social movements since the 1970s, paying attention both to the level of differences between local integration regimes and to the level of structural similarities of global integration. The analysis maintains a special focus on movements’ class composition and inter-class relationships and the specific position of middle-class politics in movements.

Political Economy and International Order in Interwar Europe

Political Economy and International Order in Interwar Europe
Author: Alexandre M. Cunha
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2020-10-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030471020

Standard histories of European integration emphasize the immediate aftermath of World War II as the moment when the seeds of the European Union were first sown. However, the interwar years witnessed a flurry of concern with the reconstruction of the world order, generating arguments that cut across the different social sciences, then plunged in a period of disciplinary soul-searching and feverish activism. Economics was no exception: several of the most prominent interwar economists, such as F. A. Hayek, Jan Tinbergen, Lionel Robbins, François Perroux, J. M. Keynes and Robert Triffin, contributed directly to larger public discussions on peace, order and stability. This edited volume combines these different strands of historical narrative into a unified framework, showing how political economy was integral to the interwar literature on international relations and, conversely, how economists were eager to incorporate international politics into their own concerns. The book brings together a group of scholars with varied disciplinary backgrounds, whose combined perspectives allow us to explore three analytical layers. The first part studies how different forms of economic knowledge, from economic programming to international finance, were used in the quest for a stable European order. The second part focuses on the existence of conflicting expectations about the role of social scientific knowledge, either as a source of technical solutions or as an input for enlightened public discussion. The third part illustrates how certain ideas and beliefs found concrete expression in specific institutional settings, which amplified their political leverage. The three parts are enclosed by an introductory essay, laying out the broad topics explored in the volume, and a substantial postscript tying all the historical threads together.

The Political Economy of Development in Southeastern Europe

The Political Economy of Development in Southeastern Europe
Author: Spyros Roukanas
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2018-10-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 331993452X

This book offers important new insights into recent advances and perspectives in the field of political economy of development in Southeastern European countries. In addition, it provides theoretical and empirical contributions to political economy of development in an international context. Written by authors from Greece, Serbia and Turkey, the book covers a broad spectrum of topics – from macroeconomics and economic policy to international political economy and globalization. Presenting new and original ideas, this is a valuable resource for anyone wishing to gain a deeper understanding of political economy of development in Southeastern Europe: academicians, policymakers and business practitioners.