LAUSR

neutral and strive to remain outside the political and diplomatic battle, ‘do in fact engage in politics undetected. . .’ (p.240). Van Middelaar also exposes the way in which constitutional and procedural ‘depoliticisation’ is used to place certain policy options outside the political arena, removing from view those responsible for a given decision. ‘The game is so complex that only the experts among the public can keep track of who is playing and where the ball has got to; supporters of one side or the other know neither where or when to make their voices heard’ (p.242). Here is a book that combines the inside knowledge of a participant in the theatre of European politics with the critical distance of the political theorist; it will become perhaps one of the most important texts for students, teachers and would-be reformers for many years to come.