Divisions in the EU are considered, as well as the conflicts that have arisen from enlargement and foreign policy concerns. Leading specialists on European politics and society reflect on the nature of consensus and competition between elites, and whether the EU may be able to provide a sense of common identity and purpose for its citizens.

Discusses the place of the contemporary European Union in world politics

Introduction; A.Gamble & D.Lane PART I: THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT The United States and the European Union: The End of Hegemony?; A.Gamble The EU: Divisions and Unity in European External Policies; M.Telò Russia's Transformation: The Rise of a World Power?; D.Lane The Implications of the Rise of China; M.Jacques PART II: DIVISIONS WITHIN EUROPE Divisions between Elites; G.Lengyel Divisions between Elites and Citizens; M.Haller European Elites and the Middle East; R.Hollis PART III: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF EUROPE Varieties of Capitalism and Europeanization: National Response Strategies Revisited; G.Menz The Primacy of Domestic Politics; O.Holman National or European Social Models? Contesting European Welfare Futures; B.Clift European Economic Policy: Protectionism as an Elite Strategy; V.Phuong Mai Le, P.Minford & E.Nowell The European Union: A Player in World Energy Politics?; S.Bromley PART IV: WHITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION? European Elites on the European Union: What Vision for the Future?; V.Schmidt Towards a European Identity?; M.Guibernau