Introduction; A.Gamble & D.Lane PART I: THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT The United States and the European Union: The End of Hegemony?; A.Gamble The EU: Divisions and Unity in European External Policies; M.Telò Russia's Transformation: The Rise of a World Power?; D.Lane The Implications of the Rise of China; M.Jacques PART II: DIVISIONS WITHIN EUROPE Divisions between Elites; G.Lengyel Divisions between Elites and Citizens; M.Haller European Elites and the Middle East; R.Hollis PART III: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF EUROPE Varieties of Capitalism and Europeanization: National Response Strategies Revisited; G.Menz The Primacy of Domestic Politics; O.Holman National or European Social Models? Contesting European Welfare Futures; B.Clift European Economic Policy: Protectionism as an Elite Strategy; V.Phuong Mai Le, P.Minford & E.Nowell The European Union: A Player in World Energy Politics?; S.Bromley PART IV: WHITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION? European Elites on the European Union: What Vision for the Future?; V.Schmidt Towards a European Identity?; M.Guibernau