Markets and Moral Regulation: Cultural Change in the European Union. By Paulette Kurzer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 222p. $55.00 cloth, $20.00 paper

Extract

An important contribution to the emerging literature on Europeanization, this book explores the extent to which there is cultural convergence in the European Union. It focuses on four case studies: alcohol policies in Finland and Sweden, “recreational” drug policy in the Netherlands, and abortion policy in Ireland. Paulette Kurzer concludes that there has been very moderate cultural convergence in relation to these sensitive policies, although EU membership is merely one dimension of change, with the EU becoming part of the tool kit of those advocating change by providing a discourse around which discussion that may lead to change can emerge.