The Institutions of the European Union, 4th edition
A new book by Dr Dermot Hodson examines the changing politics of the European Union’s institutions.
Dr Dermot Hodson from Birkbeck’s Department of Politics with Professor John Peterson (University of Edinburgh) has recently edited the fourth edition of The Institutions of the European Union. It is published by Oxford University Press.
EU institutions matter not only for those seeking to understand Europe and its crises but also for students of politics and international relations interested in whether cooperation beyond the nation state can endure.
The Institutions of the European Union, 4th edition offers a definitive guide to the functions, powers, and composition of the EU’s institutions. This edition is fully updated to cover the institutional changes prompted by the eurozone and migration crises, the UK's decision to leave the EU, and many other challenges. The addition of a number of new contributors ensures that the book continues to bring together the foremost scholars in the field.
Dr Hodson said:
"The European Union is an extraordinary - and extraordinarily controversial - experiment in international relations. Over the last six decades, a complex web of institutions has been built in Brussels that goes well beyond anything seen in other international fora such as the United Nations, NATO or the G20.
"Supranational institutions such as the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the EU are well known but poorly understood. The EU is also comprised of the world’s only directed elected transnational parliament, intergovernmental bodies that bring national representatives together in ways never seen before and an increasing number of agencies and specialist bodies.
"The EU cannot be understood without its institutions, which are at the centre of managing its many problems. EU institutions also matter for wider debates about politics and international relations at a time when the international system faces unprecedented challenges."
In this video recorded on location in Brussels, Dermot Hodson and John Peterson discuss 10 things you should know about EU institutions at a time of unprecedented crisis for the Union.
Further information:
- The Institutions of the European Union, 4th edition (Oxford University Press)
- Dr Dermot Hodson
- Department of Politics
- Courses in politics