The book examines major social transformations in Europe from the perspective of social theory. It offers an intriguing alternative to studies of the EU which emphasise the replacement of the nation-state by a supra-national authority.

This book examines the transformation of Europe from the perspective of social theory. The idea of Europeanization is used as an alternative to European integration to indicate a turning away from simplistic notions of societal integration that dominate mainstream European studies. A central objective of the book is to argue that Europeanization should be theorized in terms of societal transformations rather than in terms of polity-building or institutions of governance.

'Rethinking Europe provides a thought-provoking and important contribution to European studies. In this book, Gerard Delanty and Chris Rumford propose to develop a new vision of Europe. This vision does not focus on defining what is distinctivelyEuropean but explores the cosmopolitan quality of Europe.' - Milena Büchs, University of Southampton Rethinking Europe makes a valuable contribution to the question of how political entities such as nation states, the European Union and a 'global polity' are related to 'society building'. - Sociology, Book Reviews