Abstract
The Financial Times suggests drawing on a map a circle of 200km radius centred on Lucerne, Switzerland, to identify the Alpine Ring. This Ring is characterized — according to the columnist — by a Protestant working craftsmanship, conservative principles, family businesses and small and medium enterprises based on the hard work of the middle classes (Mittelstand).1 This chapter examines such aspects in a region that lies right at the heart of Europe. The Alpine region plays an important role in the context of European integration. The Alps have for centuries been a strategic geo-economic node of the European ‘city-belt’ and the peasant communities there have been controlling the most important passes in the south-north trade routes. Up to the present, most negotiations between Alpine regions and the European Union (EU) concern transport policies, be it rail or road.
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© 2010 Daniele Caramani
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Caramani, D. (2010). Alpine Europe. In: Dyson, K., Sepos, A. (eds) Which Europe?. Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230289529_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230289529_6
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-36358-2
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-28952-9
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