Introduces and applies a social constructivist perspective to the study of European integration. This book reviews the debates and contribution of constructivist approaches to international relations. It also explores the insights that might be afforded to European studies.

Introduction - Thomas Christiansen, Knud Erik J[sl]orgensen and Antje Wiener PART ONE: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM AND THEORIZING EUROPEAN INTEGRATION Does Constructivism Subsume Neofunctionalism? - Ernst B Haas Understanding the European Union as a Federal Polity - Rey Koslowski Social Construction and European Integration - Jeffrey T Checkel PART TWO: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST PERSPECTIVES IN STUDIES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION Postnational Constitutionalism in the European Union - Jo Shaw Speaking `Europe′ - Thomas Diez The Politics of Integration Discourse Constructing Europe? - Martin Marcussen, Thomas Risse, Daniela Englemann-Martin, Hans-Joachim Knopf and Klaus Roscher The Evolution of Nation State Identities Constructing Institutional Interests - K M Fierke and Antje Wiener EU and NATO Enlargement Reconstructing a Common European Foreign Policy - Kenneth Glarbo Discourses of Globalization and European Identities - Ben Rosamond PART THREE: DEBATING APPROACHES TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION Constructivism and European Integration - Andrew Moravcsik A Critique Social Constructivisms and European Studies - Steve Smith The 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