This book presents the sharp regional diff erences within the
integrating European continent. Four regions - Northwestern Europe,
Southern Europe, Central Europe, and Eastern-Southeastern Europe -
represent high, medium, and relatively less-developed levels of economic
advancement. These disparities have emerged as a result of historical
diff erences that produced and reinforced cultural and behavioral diff
erences.
The author examines the distinctions between the regions, looks at how
these differences transpired and became so retrenched, and answers the
question of why some countries were able to elevate to higher levels of
economic development while others could not. This book is unique in that
it provides a timely historical analysis of the main causes of the most
pressing conflicts in Europe today. Readers will come away from this
book with a deeper understanding of the sharp divergence in economic
standing between the four different regions of Europe, as well as
knowledge about how institutional corruption and other cultural features
exacerbated these variations. The book also offers a better
understanding of major European Union confl icts between member
countries and between member and nonmember countries, as well as the
rise of autocratic regimes in certain countries. The book begins with a
short history of European integration throughout European civilization
and then goes on to discuss the modern reality of integration and
attempts to homogenize the Continent that divided into four different
macro-regions.
It will primarily appeal to scholars, researchers and students studying
Europe from various fi elds, including economics, business, history,
political science, and sociology, as well as a general readership
interested in Europe's past, present, and future.
