Creating European Citizens

Exploring a key aspect of European integration this clear and thoughtful book considers the remarkable experiment with common rights and citizenship in the EU. Explaining this innovation—why states cede their sovereignty and eradicate or redefine the boundaries of the political community by including "foreigners"—Willem Maas analyzes the development of European citizenship within the larger context of the evolution of rights. More than simply a free trade market the goal of building a community among peoples—creating European citizens—has informed European integration since its origins. The author argues that its success or failure will not only determine the future of Europe but provide lessons for political integration elsewhere.