This book focuses on the impact of political leaders on the integration process led by the European Union. It aims at a better understanding of the European Union through the actions, contributions, and ideas of these outstanding characters to European integration and disintegration. By doing so, the book offers an entirely new perspective, presenting the actions of the main actors involved, their background, their historical time, their challenges and problems, and how they influenced the European Union's development.
The authors in detail discuss different ideas connected to leaders, such as Jean Monnet and neo-functionalism, Spinelli and federalism or Churchill and the idea of cooperation. Furthermore, the book examines major policies and events, like the Common Agricultural Policy, the creation of the Euro as a consequence of the German reunification and Mitterrand’s reactions, or Brexit and its connection to the impact of Margaret Thatcher.
The global essence of the book makes it a must-read for students, researchers, and scholars interested in a better understanding of the European Union's integration process.
David Ramiro Troitiño is an associate professor at the Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia). He is the author of more than 100 publications, including two Springer books related to the topic as an editor: Brexit: History, Reasoning and Perspectives (2018) and The EU in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities for the European Integration Process (2020). His research focuses on the European Union from a broad perspective, approaching it as a process.
Guillermo A. Pérez Sánchez is a Professor of Contemporary History at the Department of Modern, Contemporary, American History, Journalism and Audiovisual Communication and Advertising at the University of Valladolid (Spain), and Director of the Institute for European Studies (Jean Monnet Center of Excellence). Previously, he has been a "Salvador de Madariaga Fellow" at the European University Institute of Florence (Italy), where he has worked on issues related to European integration.Pérez Sánchez's research focuses on the European ideal, the recent history of the Eastern countries and the former Soviet Union, as well as on relations between the global North and South. He has published various books, book chapters, and journal articles on these topics, including the Springer volume "The EU in the 21st Century" (2020) as a co-editor.
Ricardo Martín de la Guardia is a Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Valladolid (Spain) and a Jean Monnet Professor for the History of the European Union since January 2020. Previously, he was the Director of the Institute of European Studies at the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence, University of Valladolid, between 2009 and 2013. His research focuses on international relations and European integration. Martín de la Guardia is the author, co-author, or editor of various books, journal articles, and book chapters, including the Springer volume "The EU in the 21st Century" (2020) as a co-editor.
