This book is the first draft of a broader work that aims to narrate the journey of the European idea and its institutional embodiment during the 20th century. In its present form, it serves as an introductory guide for students whose field of study is aligned with or intersects the field of European integration. The economy of the text necessitates a limited depiction of the various stages of European becoming with restricted evaluative remarks. Certain aspects of the integration phenomenon, such as its outward-oriented nature manifested through the creation of a dense network of relationships between the European Union, third countries, and international organizations, remain unremarked. Despite these aforementioned shortcomings, this small endeavor can prove useful not only to the uninitiated reader in the field of European studies but also to those who already possess a general overview and are undertaking a systematic investigation of it.
[...]
(from the book's preface)