European Governance Policy Making between Politicization and Control

This collection provides a balanced evaluation of multi-level governance. Written by international experts of policy-making in the European Union, each contribution builds on common conceptual definitions, critically debating their adaptation to policy-specific contexts and investigating their usefulness for conducting empirical research. This engaging text uses case studies to identify the specific changes that have occurred in power relations across different levels of the EU system. With varying emphasis on state and non-state actors, on country comparisons and international processes, the reader is invited to join a fruitful dialogue among the contributors about the symbiotic relationship of multi-level analysis with other conceptual innovations such as transnational regulation, network formation or market internationalization. This book confronts sophisticated theoretical reasoning with the actual realities of policy-making and is therefore essential reading for all those interested in the risks and opportunities of a comparative-interdisciplinary approach to European governance.

Contents: Introduction: the ambiguity of multi-level governance, G.P.E. Walzenbach. Economic Policies: European competition policy: governance as graduated co-ordination, G.P.E. Walzenbach; Polycentric governance meets the new economy: the United States, the European Union and transnational regulation, Thomas C. Lawton, Steven McGuire and G.P.E. Walzenbach; Dematerializing economies and local growth: a case for ad hoc governance, Tony Gore and Don J. Webber. Social Policies: European employment policy: governance as regulation, Graham Taylor; Social security policy: European goals and institutional barriers, Rosa Mulé; Multiple agoras: environmental policy between globalization and European transformation, Jörg Dürrschmidt. Policies With Externalities: Immigration and asylum policy in Europe: a challenge to the model of multi-level governance, Oliver Schmidtke; A capability-implementation gap in the making? multi-level governance and European crisis management, Liisa Laakso; Interparliamentary co-operation in the European Union: towards multi-level governance, Donatella M. Viola; Conclusion: an interdisciplinary approach to European governance?, G.P.E. Walzenbach; Bibliography; Index.

G.P.E. Walzenbach is a Senior Lecturer in European Politics at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK, and an International Resident Scholar in the Department of International Relations and Diplomatic Service at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine.