ABSTRACT
The European Union (EU) possesses its own political structure and assumes an important role in formulating public policies. Many suggest Europeanization may have gone too far, and that states need to assert themselves against a too-powerful EU. An alternative conception of Europe would be a value-based community, based upon social and cultural citizenship and drawing a firm line between Europe and other states and actors. While on-balance capitalist, the different mix of free market and statist economic orientations among European states offers a great opportunity to compare varieties of capitalism. Western Europe had clear geographic borders and defined by its democratic political systems and opposition to Soviet-inspired communism. To Euroskeptics inside and outside of Europe, one might ask if their vision of Europe would be as prosperous and peaceful as one in which Europe became even more integrated. The days of a world dominated by European "Great Powers" such as Great Britain, France, and Spain are long gone.
