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The
territorial or spatial dimensions of European integration are not
well covered in the EU studies literature and this book is a welcome
addition to an emerging field. The theme of this edited collection
of eleven essays is reflected in the book's subtitle: the relation
between territory, citizenship and identity. Despite the title however
the book does not concern itself with borders to any great extent,
which is a shame as the construction of Europe's borders is arguably
the most significant dimension of European territoriality.The relationship
between territory and identity are explored most interestingly in
the chapters by Kumar, Entrikin, and Brenner. Krishan Kumar, in
his discussion of European identity, makes the point that transnationalism
is not new: Europe has always been a transnational space and has
long depended upon interaction between Europeans and those beyond.
Nicholas Entrikin adds a valuable cosmopolitan dimension, and looks
at the way in which the European Union is concerned to construct
a single, homogenous European space which both increases mobility
within Europe and opens up Europeans to a wider world community.
Neil Brenner's densely argued chapter is concerned with the rescaling
of state space in Europe, particularly as it affects urban governance.
Cities and regions became orientated towards European and global
circuits of capital as Keynesian planning gave way to neo-liberalism
through the 1980s. More recently, and in light of the uneven territorial
development produced by earlier regimes, there has been a shift
towards new forms of governance designed to better manage unbalanced
growth.Overall, the editors display a rather conservative approach
to the subject, interpreting the spatial recalibration of Europe
in terms of a reorganization of existing spaces: discussion of the
novelty of European space, particularly in the light of the contradictory
impact of globalization on Europe's cities, regions, nation-states,
trans-border networks, for example, is largely absent.
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