European Union Enlargement

Thomas Mehlhausen is a Research and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Political Theory at the University of Potsdam, Germany.

• 1 Introduction Part I Theory Test: Eastern and Southern European Union Enlargements 2 Theoretical Perspectives on European Union Enlargement 3 European Union Eastern Enlargement 4 European Community Southern Enlargements Part II Theory Building: Anomie and Diffuse Decision Contexts 5 The European Union’s Liberal Identity and its Constitutive Norms 6 German Unification, Maastricht and the Prospect of a Wider Europe 7 Solving the Double Enlargement Puzzle: Opportunities and Constraints in Diffuse Decision Contexts 8 Conclusions

'This book contributes to the understanding of European Union enlargement through the lenses of international relations (IR) theories. Mehlhausen (Univ. of Potsdam, Germany) is most gifted when writing about theories; any IR student can benefit from his sophisticated discussions in chapters 2, 5, and 7. His breadth of understanding is indicated by impressive bibliographies for each chapter, and he shows how constructivists have overlooked enlargement debates in surprising ways—particularly because the literature on European and EU identity is a burgeoning field. Summing Up: Recommended.' - S. L. McMillan, Lander University, CHOICE Reviews2016