Small States in Europe
Small States in Europe

Author: Robert Steinmetz

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-01

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 131705430X

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The effects of recent institutional change within the European Union on small states have often been overlooked. This book offers an accessible, coherent and informative analysis of contemporary and future foreign policy challenges facing small states in Europe. Leading experts analyze the experiences of a number of small states including the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Iceland, Austria and Switzerland. Each account, written to a common template, explores the challenges and opportunities faced by each state as a consequence of EU integration, and how their behaviour regarding EU integration has been characterized. In particular, the contributors emphasize the importance of power politics, institutional dynamics and lessons of the past. Innovative and sophisticated, the study draws on the relational understanding of small states to emphasize the implications of institutional change at the European level for the smaller states and to explain how the foreign and European policies of small states in the region are affected by the European Union.

Luxembourg
Luxembourg

Author: Tim Skelton

Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides

Published: 2024-06-24

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1804691526

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This new, thoroughly updated fifth edition of Bradt’s Luxembourg remains the only comprehensive, English-language guidebook to focus exclusively on this small but fascinating European country, where public transport is now entirely free. Reviews of the best places to stay and eat in all price categories, from luxury to budget, sit alongside information about every museum and significant place of interest, plus in-depth guides to local food, drink, language and culture, and advice on the best cycling and hiking trails, many of the latter having been personally explored by the author. This diminutive European state punches above its weight and is celebrated for everything from its early pioneering of commercial broadcasting with Radio Luxembourg to the fact that it has won the Eurovision Song Contest five times, while Luxembourg riders have won the Tour de France five times too. A foodie paradise, the country offers its own unique cuisine (a fusion of French and German influences) and perhaps the densest collection of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world. Short distances and easy travelling (whether by public transport or driving) mean a lot can be covered in a relatively brief visit, from sixty medieval castles to plentiful opportunities for outdoors enthusiasts, including long-distance international walking trails linking with the Belgian Ardennes and German Eifel. Military history is also covered, notably the sites of the Battle of the Ardennes and Hamm American Military Cemetery (the burial place of General Patton), as are details of the most popular sites such as Vianden and Luxembourg City’s Museum of Modern Art. New for this edition are: the Royal Hamilius complex in Luxembourg City (designed by architect Sir Norman Foster); the post-renovation, UNESCO-listed Pétrusse casemates; infrastructure upgrades such as extensions to the City’s tram line and ever-easier train and aeroplane access; details on the new cultural and art spaces in Esch-sur-Alzette (a European City of Culture in 2022); new wine-related events in the Moselle; a new Slate Museum in Haut-Martelange; and the Mëllerdall Nature and Geopark’s inclusion in UNESCO’s network of global geoparks. With so much in Luxembourg to surprise you, Bradt’s Luxembourg is the perfect travel companion.

Inventing Luxembourg
Inventing Luxembourg

Author: Pit Péporté

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2010-02-16

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 9004188819

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The grand duchy of Luxembourg is a showcase example for the constructed nature of national identities. This book explores this construction process from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, focusing on representations of the past, space and language.

Plumbers and Visionaries
Plumbers and Visionaries

Author: Peter Norman

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2008-07-31

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 0470994398

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Plumbers and Visionaries: Securities Settlement and Europe’s Financial Market is a path-breaking account of the history and future of the securities settlement industry in Europe. Written by experienced journalist and author, Peter Norman, this book takes a look at the less visible, but nevertheless critical segment of the global capital markets, following the development of securities settlement across Europe’s frontiers. It encompasses the free-wheeling days of the Eurobond market in the 1960s, through the growing integration of the European Union, to the highly regulated and efficient multi-trillion euro business securities settlement it is today. This book is the story of a financial sector that has grown hugely in importance in the 40 years since Euroclear, now the world’s premier settlement system for domestic and international securities transactions, was created to deal with a settlement crisis that threatened to smother the international capital market in its infancy. Beginning with the settlement crisis in the Eurobond market, this book describes how Euroclear and later Cedel, its arch-rival, were founded to deal with the problem. It follows the challenges posed by cross-border settlement for a growing range of securities when most financial infrastructures operated only within national frontiers. The book demonstrates how securities settlement became an issue for public policy after the stock market crash of 1987 and how the problems of cross-border settlement moved rapidly up the European policy agenda after the euro’s launch. More than a mere history, this book engages with the people who created the modern European securities settlement industry and taps into the often entertaining memories of its founding fathers. This book also focuses on the difficulties and challenges of cross-border transactions which have been identified as hampering Europe’s economic growth. It looks at the present state of the industry seeking a way forward so that the securities settlement infrastructure will better serve a single European capital market.

Trust and Hedging in International Relations
Trust and Hedging in International Relations

Author: Kendall Stiles

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2018-02-22

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 0472123572

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Do states trust each other? What are the political and ethical implications of trust? Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, Trust and Hedging in International Relations adds to the emerging literature on trust in international relations by offering a systematic measure of state-to-state trust. Looking at how relationships between European microstates and their partners have evolved over the past few centuries, Stiles finds that rather than trusting, most microstates are careful to hedge in their relations by agreeing only to arrangements that provide them with opt-out clauses, heavy involvement in joint decision-making, and sunset provisions. In the process, Stiles assesses the role of rationality, social relations, identity politics, and other theories of trust to demonstrate that trust is neither essential for cooperation nor a guarantee of protection and safety. Finally, he explores the ethical implications of a foreign policy founded on trust—in particular whether heads of state have the right to enter into open-ended agreements that put their citizens at risk.

The politics of participation
The politics of participation

Author: Matt Qvortrup

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2013-07-19

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 1847796982

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We live in an age of democracy. Very few people challenge the virtues of ‘government by the people’, yet politicians and commentators are fond of decrying the ‘crisis of democracy’. How do these views square up? This book provides the answer by surveying the philosophical history of democracy and its critics and by analysing empirical data about citizen participation in Britain and other developed democracies. In addition to analysis of major political thinkers like Plato, Machiavelli and J.S. Mill, the book analyses how modern technology has influenced democracy. Among the issues discussed in the book are why people vote and what determines their decisions, what prompts citizen involvement in riots and demonstrations, whether spin doctors and designer politics pose a threat to democracy and the influence of mass media on our political behaviour. More than merely providing an overview, the book also presents original analyses of timely issues such as referendums and the consequences of postal voting. An essential book for students of politics, history and media studies, this study puts the debate about democracy into perspective and offers a solid grounding for future discussions.

Teaching and Learning the European Union
Teaching and Learning the European Union

Author: Stefania Baroncelli

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-10-04

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 940077043X

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This volume examines the EU’s changing educational context and its challenges. Based on an extensive survey of more than 2000 European Studies courses in 30 European countries, it maps and analyses the features of teaching methodologies as they emerge from both disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary curricula. It presents a series of case studies on some of the most-used innovative teaching tools emerging in the field such as simulation games, e-learning, problem based learning, blended learning, and learning through the use of social networks. Based on the contributors’ own experiences and academic research, the book examines both strengths and possible pitfalls of these increasingly popular methods. The book’s critical approach will inspire educators and scholars committed to improving the teaching methods and tools in the area of European Studies and other programmes of higher education facing similar challenges.