Series Editor
- Mark Vail, Wake Forest University
Editorial advisory board
- Jean Beaman, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Sara De Jong, York University (UK)
- Chris Howell, Oberlin College
- Thomas Oatley, Tulane University
- Kaija Schilde, Boston University
- Sarah Wiliarty, Wesleyan University
Understanding Europe
In support of its mission to produce, support, and recognize outstanding, multi-disciplinary research on Europe through a wide range of programs and initiatives, CES has launched a new book series that will publish scholarly research on all aspects of European Studies. Under the editorial guidance of Professor Mark Vail, the series mirrors CES’ commitment to supporting research that plays a critical role in understanding contemporary Europe, its nation states, institutions, and societies. Our aim is to publish high-profile and deeply substantive work that engages with many of the central debates of our age, from established and new scholars alike.
The editorial team is actively soliciting new projects for the series. We offer unrivalled editorial support to experienced and first-time authors and editors, starting with the proposal process. Before submitting an outline, we would encourage you to contact one of the editors involved with the series to discuss your ideas and the project.
We will consider carefully curated edited collections that bring together the expertise of specialists to engage with issues in depth and with breadth. It is important that such a collection meet a high standard and that the contributors be engaged in the broader aims of the book. We can advise on how to achieve this, if you are new to book editing, or discuss options, if you are not. Topics that are of interest include and are not limited to:
- The legacy of Europe’s colonial past
- Ideology and economic crisis
- Security and international relations (with the US, Russia, China etc.)
- Trade
- Social and economic inequality
- Race, ethnicity, and (im)migration
- Identity
- Labour and industrial relations
- Gender and women in European politics
Books in the Understanding Europe Series:
The New Politics of Nationalism in Contemporary Europe (September 2025)
Edited by Gregory C Baldi
This book brings together experts to analyse nine countries that contribute specific aspects to the study of nationalism in Europe.
Heralds of a Democratic Europe: Representation Without Politicization in the European Community, 1948-69 (August 2024)
By Koren van Zon
The received wisdom in European integration history is that, long before the EU was plagued by Euroscepticism and other forms of contestation, there was a “permissive consensus” between European elites and the general public, which allowed European integration to move forward. This book looks beyond this presumed consensus, to ask how the members of European institutions themselves perceived and shaped their relations with European citizens during the early years of the European Communities.
Owning the City: Property Rights in Authoritarian Regimes (July 2022)
By Marsha McGraw Olice
Competition between democratic and authoritarian systems is playing out in global cities, where real property rights influence regime legitimacy and economic performance. Two questions inspire debate.Why does the property-owning middle class, which was integral to democratic development in the West, support illiberal governments? Do differences between political systems affect the success of global cities?
European Studies: Past, Present and Future (April 2020)
By Erik Jones
In commemoration of the founding of the Council fifty years ago, this volume brings together some of the most influential Europeanists writing today to take stock of the subject and to consider the most fruitful avenues for future research. With European democracy seemingly under threat from populism on the left and the right, the economies of countries still struggling to emerge from a decade of recession and stagnating growth, environmental concerns paramount and the quest for social cohesion a distant goal, the contributors to this volume bring their insight to bear on the fertile ground that the EU and the continent more broadly offer researchers.
Click the button below to watch an interview about the “Understanding Europe” series with Mark Vail and Erik Jones. The Passcode is: zFs^2s6+
To submit a proposal, please download the form below, fill it out, and send it back to Alison Howson (alison.howson@agendapub.com).
If you are interested in submitting a proposal to us for consideration or in discussing an idea that you might be interested in developing, then please contact Alison Howson (alison.howson@agendapub.com), publisher at Agenda, in the first instance, who will be pleased to answer any questions you might have about the series and advise you on how to approach the proposal and publishing process and who would be best to help you with the project from our team.
Alison Howson: E-mail: alison.howson@agendapub.com Phone: +44 (0)7850 858801
Agenda is an independent academic publishing house that marries old-fashioned editorial values with modern publishing technology. Agenda publishes work for students, lecturers and researchers in institutions of education worldwide. We place the author–publisher relationship at the heart of our publishing, and we are keen to work with authors and contributors who share our belief that the best publishing is a collaborative enterprise. For more information about the company, please visit our website at www.agendapub.com