The Social Construction of Europe

Antje Wiener joined the Department in March 2007 as Professor of Politics and International Relations. Her Political Science degrees are from Carleton University, Canada (PhD 1996) and the Free University of Berlin (MA/Dipl Pol 1989). She has taught at the Free University of Berlin, Stanford University, Carleton University, the Universities of Sussex, Hannover, Queen′s Belfast and Trento. Her research and teaching interests are in International Relations theory and International Law, Global Constitutionalism and European Integration theory

• Introduction - Thomas Christiansen, Knud Erik J[sl]orgensen and Antje WienerPART ONE: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM AND THEORIZING EUROPEAN INTEGRATIONDoes Constructivism Subsume Neofunctionalism? - Ernst B HaasUnderstanding the European Union as a Federal Polity - Rey KoslowskiSocial Construction and European Integration - Jeffrey T CheckelPART TWO: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVES IN STUDIES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATIONPostnational Constitutionalism in the European Union - Jo ShawSpeaking `Europe′ - Thomas DiezThe Politics of Integration DiscourseConstructing Europe? - Martin Marcussen, Thomas Risse, Daniela Englemann-Martin, Hans-Joachim Knopf and Klaus RoscherThe Evolution of Nation State IdentitiesConstructing Institutional Interests - K M Fierke and Antje WienerEU and NATO EnlargementReconstructing a Common European Foreign Policy - Kenneth GlarboDiscourses of Globalization and European Identities - Ben RosamondPART THREE: DEBATING APPROACHES TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATIONConstructivism and European Integration - Andrew MoravcsikA CritiqueSocial Constructivisms and European Studies - Steve SmithThe Social Construction of Social Constructivism - Thomas Risse and Antje Wiener

`The Social Construction of Europe combines several virtues that make it a most appealing volume. Overall, one has the sense that this is a real exploration of possibilities, not a mechanistic replay of foregone conclusions. The contributors push constructivist theories to see how far they can go in explaining diverse aspects of European integration. In addition, the inclusion of diverse perspectives makes, in this case, for a real conversation about the potential contributions of, as well as the challenges facing, constructivist approaches to the study of Europe. The book does not pretend to be the last word on this subject, but rather the introduction to new and worthwhile dialogues′ - Wayne Sandholtz, University of California, Irvine`The constuctivist approaches to European integration set out in this volume offer a stimulating antidote to theories that emphasize states′ interests. As Ernest Haas argues in his persuasive essay, there are productive affinities between constructivism and neofunctionalism in their efforts to explain the "soft rationality" of politics in the European Union′ - Helen Wallace, University of Sussex`A most appealing volume introducing new and worthwhile dialogues on the contribution of, and the challenges facing, constructivist approaches to the study of Europe′ - Wayne Sandholtz, University of California, Irvine