being made to realize these ambitious goals. Despite huge discrepancies in eco­nomic resources across Europe, everywhere there is a discernible commitment to high social spending, sometimes even higher than might otherwise be expected, especially in poorer states such as Poland or Estonia. Although the policy out­comes are rather mixed and serious problems persist, these efforts cannot merely be dismissed in the context of the industrialized world as a whole. Furthermore, this work deserves special praise for its critical perspective on the problems hindering further improvement and expansion of social protec­tion – as well as social inclusion – in the European Union. All contributors to the volume acknowledge serious difficulties in reforming national welfare states in both Eastern and Western countries, but they also make valuable points concern­ing the often indirect and barely detectable influences of eu policies, directives, and occasional court rulings. They enable us to better understand these problems as the products of cross-cutting policy agendas and policy-making practices at the subnational, national, and eu levels. Thus, aside from its significance as a novel perspective on the European Social Model – now understood as an amalgam of interconnected social policy traditions from both Western and East-central Eu­rope with common underlying ideas and goals – this study presents a complex but highly illuminating picture of the evolving systems of welfare protection at the beginning of a new, more globally aware century. Unable to change national institutional trajectories and welfare ideologies, supranational agents(the eu ) can nonetheless force nations to make accommodations in labor and social policies, not so much overriding the distinct features of each country as constantly remind­ing all Europeans of the ambitious goals and traditions that they share. Making us aware of these complex processes with the help of rich and up-to-date empiri­cal evidence is perhaps the greatest contribution of this book. I recommend it highly to scholars and experts on comparative social policy around the world. Tomasz Inglot, Minnesota State University, USA MARTIN HÖPNER/ ARMIN SCHÄFER(Hrsg.): Die Politische Ökonomie der Europäischen Integration Frankfurt a. M. 2008 Campus Verlag, 448 S. I n den europäischen Mitgliedsstaaten hat das Zusammenspiel von Politik und Ökonomie zur Herausbildung einer Vielzahl unterschiedlicher nationaler »Produktions- und Verteilungsregime« geführt, die auch als Spielarten des Kapi­talismus(»varieties of capitalism«) bezeichnet werden. Dem gemeinsamen euro­päischen Wirtschaftsraum, der in den letzten Jahrzehnten immer enger zusam­ipg 2/2009 Rezensionen/Book Reviews 159