The Benelux, Regional Groupings and the Dynamics of European Integration - (European Studies) (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This edited volume examines Europe's (sub)regional groupings--Benelux, Nordic Council, Baltic Group, Visegrád Four, and EU Med--as nested institutions interacting with, complementing, or contesting EU integration. Framed by shelter theory and differentiated integration, the book assesses their historical origins, institutionalisation, functions (vanguard, functional cooperation, coordination, resistance), and effects on EU policymaking. Part I revisits Benelux as laboratory and model across internal market, JHA, defence, and police cooperation; Part II surveys other groupings and macro-regional strategies. Through comparative case studies, it tests expectations about the regularity of meetings, institutionalisation, and policy ambitions to understand when and how smaller states leverage regional coalitions to shape Europe today. A must-read for anyone interested in the underexplored engines of European integration--especially in an era of renewed geopolitical tension and shifting alliances.

Contributors are: Spero Simeon Z. Paravantes, Alain De Muyser, Anna-Lena Högenauer, Mendeltje van Keulen, Pierluigi Simone, Pawel Kolek, Martin Dangerfield, Stefan Gänzle, Jörg Mirtl, Matthew Broad, Daunis Auers, Giorgio Oikonomou, Napoleon Maravegias, and Melanie H. Ram.

About the Author

Robert Harmsen is Professor in Political Science and European Governance at the University of Luxembourg and Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences.

Anna-Lena Högenauer, University of Luxembourg, is Associate Professor of Political Science with a focus on European Union politics and European comparative politics.

Simeon Spero Z. Paravantes, University of Utrecht, is a historian of Cold War Europe and America. He has published books and articles about the cold war, including Britain and the United States in Greece after WWII (2021).