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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > International institutions > EU & European institutions
These essays, written in honour of retired ECJ judge Pernilla Lindh, reflect on the development of courts and judging in the EU since the founding of the Union. In particular they focus on recent reforms and proposals aimed at further increasing public confidence and democratic accountability throughout the EU judicial system.
The European Commission is an organization which has come to fascinate or repulse a range of national politicians, journalists and social scientists. In contrast to the prevailing image of the Commission as a 'bureaucrat's paradise', however, and by using the results of original research, this book deliberately sets out to investigate this organization's relationship to politics. It does so first by developing a variety of case-studies (health, development aid, preparations for Eastern enlargement, etc.) as a means of studying the relationships, networks and interdependencies which link commissioners and Commission officials to national politicians, civil servants and interest groups. Second, by looking in detail at how the Commission publicizes its work, notably through producing public information and liaising with the media, fresh light is shone upon the complex question of the Commission's legitimacy. Politics and the European Commission provides a framework for generating new information about, and interpretations of, the power struggles at the heart of the EU.
Today s Europe is marked by an amazing pace of integration. The European Union now consists of twenty five member states, however there is confusion and disagreement about its future design. Making The European Polity investigates how the European Union should develop and organize itself and offers a reflexive approach to integration based on the theory of communicative action. It conceives of the EU as a law based supranational polity lacking the identity of a people as well as the coercive means of a state and argues that it is a polity with an organized capacity to act, but no sole apex of authority. Making an important contribution to the theoretical discussions on the EU, these contributors explore a range of issues including legitimacy, post-national democracy and integration and provide in-depth analyses of social and tax policy, foreign policy, identity formation, the reform process and the constitutional effects of enlargement. This book will appeal to all political scientists and particularly to students and researchers of European Politics.
Governing Europe is the first book to systematically link Michel Foucault's hypotheses on power and 'governmentality' with the study of European integration. Through a series of empirical encounters that spans the fifty-year history of European integration, it explores both the diverse political dreams that have framed means and ends of integration and the political technologies that have made 'Europe' a calculable, administrable domain. The book illustrates how a genealogy of European integration differs from conventional approaches. By suspending the assumption that we already know what/where Europe is, it opens a space for analysis where we can ask: how did Europe come to be governed as this and not that? The themes covered by this book include: * the different constructions of Europe within discourses of modernization, democratization, insecurity and 'governance' * the imprint of modernism, liberalism, ordoliberalism, neoliberalism and crime on the identity of the European Community/European Union * the historical relationship between European government and specific technologies of power, technologies as diverse as planning, price control, transparency and benchmarking.
Sarah Niblock and David Machin bring us a much needed book that
bridges the gap between journalistic theory and practice. The
authors respond to a recent and growing recognition in academia and
indeed journalism of the importance of reflective practice based on
consultation of the sociological literature on journalism and the
media industry. There is a distinct lack of up-to-date publications
on journalists at work, the most recent ethnographies having been
published in the 1980s. This book will provide detailed
ethnographies of eight different news production settings. Each
chapter follows two news workers through their daily routines,
detailing the exact nature of their jobs, the constraints they may
encounter, how they cope with those constraints and finally to what
extent their work can be understood through reference to the
sociological theory and vice versa. Chapters include "News
agencies: something to please everyone," "The roving reporter,"
"Photojournalism" and "The new reporter learning the ropes."
This new study revisits the work of the late Ernst Haas, assessing
his relevance for contemporary European integration and its
disparities.
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.
This new volume develops a conceptual framework for considering and
evaluating the role(s) played by the EU in international politics,
drawing upon the literatures of role analysis, international
relations and European integration.
Despite the non-territorialised strategic goals of the EU 2020 Strategy, the long-term aim of EU Cohesion Policy to promote harmonious development of the European territory - social, economic, and 'territorial cohesion' - remains a central goal of achieving a more cohesive EU territory. This book examines the 'territorial dimension' of EU Cohesion Policy, specifically assessing territorial impacts at the various spatial levels, engaging theoretically and empirically with the notion and role of the 'territorial dimension' within a strongly fragmented EU policymaking process, and examining more generally EU Cohesion Policy, as the main driver of the EU territorial development process. It provides an updated and fresh theoretical discussion on the precise meaning of the 'territorial dimension' of policies and the relatively recent EU policy evaluation technique, known as 'Territorial Impact Assessment' (TIA). Assessing the history, relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of these procedures, it presents several empirical findings on the implementation of specific territorial-focus and place-based financial instruments, as part of the Territorial Agendas and the EU goal of achieving a more integrated, territorial approach. This text will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners of spatial planning and cohesion policy, European sector policies and European spatial planning, and more broadly to European and EU studies/politics, regional economic geography and public policy.
Since the end of the Cold War the European Union has gradually expended its external relations and foreign policies and become a global actor in world politics. During the last decade interregionalism has become a key component of the EU's external relations and foreign policies. In fact, the EU has quickly become the hub of a large number of interregional arrangements with a number of regions around the world. Promoting regional and interregional relations not only justifies and enhances the EU's own existence and efficiency as a global 'actor', the strategy also promote the legitimacy and status of other regions, giving rise to a deepening of cross-cutting interregional relations in trade and economic relations, political dialogue, development cooperation, cultural relations and security cooperation. This collection analyses the EU's role in the world and as a global actor, with a particular focus on the origins, causes and strength (or absence) of interregionalism in the EU's external relations and foreign policies towards some of the most important regions around the world: Africa, Asia, South America, North America and Central-Eastern Europe. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration.
The European Union's "democratic deficit" and ways that might be found to resolve it are hot issues in both academic debate and practical politics. "Democratizing the European Union" offers a fresh approach to this subject by bringing together a diverse range of authors who have been actively involved either in analyzing the activities of the European Union or participating in them. The contributors go beyond a primarily institutional approach by highlighting issues having to do with values, participation, and exclusion. Collectively this volume also transcends the limitations of abstract theory. Embracing a range of perspectives, and including discussions of major contemporary challenges, such as enlargement and economic and monetary union, this book contains a detailed analysis of the response of New Labour to the democratization debate. The contributions include: Sue Cohen, "Social Solidarity in the Delors Period"; Sverker Gustavsson, "Reconciling Suprastatism and Accountability: A View from Sweden"; Stefano Fella, "A Europe of the Peoples? New Labour and Democratizing the EU"; John Lambert and Catherine Hoskyns, "How Democratic is the European Parliament?"; Valerio Lintner, "Controlling Monetary Union"; Mary Kaldor, "Eastern Enlargement and Democracy"; Richard Kuper, "Democratization: A Constitutionalizing Process"; and Catherine Hoskyns, "Democratizing the EU: Evidence and Argument." "Democratizing the European Union" is essential reading for all those with an interest in the EU and broader questions of democracy. It is also particularly useful for students of European Studies and practitioners involved in EU policymaking and lobbying.
The European Union is one of the world's biggest economies. However, its role as an international actor is ambiguous and it's not always able to transform its political power into effective external policies. The development of an 'assertive' European Union challenges the image of an internal project aimed at economic integration and international relations theories based on unitary state actors. This book systematically links the EU's external relations to existing political theories, showing how existing theories need to be modified in order to deal with specific characteristics of the EU as an international actor.
In May 2004, eight former communist states in Central and Eastern Europe acceded to the European Union. This new book examines the Eastern expansion of the EU through a tripartite structure, developing an empirical, conceptual and institutional analysis to provide a rounded and substantive account of EU enlargement, with new theoretical insights. The foreword is by written by Pat Cox, former president of the European Parliament. John O'Brennan also explores:
In this context he comprehensively covers the role of the European Council, Commission and Parliament. This important volume will of great interest to students and scholars of European politics and European Union studies.
The European Union (EU) is in a state of transformation with its constitutional future the subject of much heated debate. This book provides a durable, authoritative and comprehensive account of constitutional development, examining the pivotal roles of law and judicial politics in establishing the EU constitutional edifice. Michael Longo demonstrates and substantiates the arguments for and against constitutionalisation through the development of a theoretical framework drawing on theories and empirical research in both law and political science to understand this new process of European Integration.
Day fines, as a pecuniary sanction, have a great potential to reduce inequality in the criminal sentencing system, as they impose the same relative punishment on all offenders irrespective of their income. Furthermore, with correct implementation, they can constitute an alternative sanction to the more repressive and not always efficient short-term prison sentences. Finally, by independently expressing in the sentence the severity and the income of the offender, day fines can increase uniformity and transparency of sentencing. Having this in mind, almost half of the European Union countries have adopted day fines in their criminal justice system. For the first time, this book makes their findings accessible to a wider international audience. Aimed at scholars, policy makers and criminal law practitioners, it provides an opportunity to learn about the theoretical advantages, the practical challenges, the successes and failures, and ways to improve.
Day fines, as a pecuniary sanction, have a great potential to reduce inequality in the criminal sentencing system, as they impose the same relative punishment on all offenders irrespective of their income. Furthermore, with correct implementation, they can constitute an alternative sanction to the more repressive and not always efficient short-term prison sentences. Finally, by independently expressing in the sentence the severity and the income of the offender, day fines can increase uniformity and transparency of sentencing. Having this in mind, almost half of the European Union countries have adopted day fines in their criminal justice system. For the first time, this book makes their findings accessible to a wider international audience. Aimed at scholars, policy makers and criminal law practitioners, it provides an opportunity to learn about the theoretical advantages, the practical challenges, the successes and failures, and ways to improve.
The European Union's Constitutional treaty has been much talked
about, usually critically, by those who see it either as a
blueprint for a centralized and protectionist super-state or as the
triumph of Anglo-Saxon economics that will undermine the European
social model and the institutions which support it. It has created
great controversy throughout Europe yet it has been little read,
notably in the United Kingdom, partly because the text has not been
widely circulated.
The deepening social and territorial divisions within Europe are examined in this comprehensive and authoritative book. Using a global perspective, the contributors argue that social and territorial cleavages are inextricably linked, and that only a detailed examination of economic, political and geographical differences can lead to a clearer understanding of the social tensions and inequalities that exist across Europe. Topics covered include: gender; age; social integration; citizenship; and migration and race in Europe's complex and changing territorial system.
Social Mobility in Europe is the most comprehensive study to date
of trends in intergenerational social mobility. It uses data from
11 European countries covering the last 30 years of the twentieth
century to analyze differences between countries and changes
through time.
Developed and significantly expanded from a special issue of the
Journal of European Public Policy, this volume draws on the
insights from the recently emerging theoretically-informed
literature on the EU's eastern enlargement and complements these
studies with original articles that combine a theoretical approach
with comparative analyses. The expert contributors focus on the
broader theoretical debates and their implications for the
enlargement of the EU, as well as placing the enlargement of the EU
within the broader context of the expansion of international
organizations and the study of institutions in international
relations.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the European Union is an increasingly dense transnational social and political space. More and more non-governmental organisations develop transnational links, which are usually more intensive within the EU, even if they often extend beyond its borders to the wider world. This multi-disciplinary volume explores the importance of these structures, actors and relations for EU and European governance in the context of the theoretical debate about European integration in the social sciences. This book delivers: theoretical chapters examining and discussing the main conceptual perspectives to studying the transnational EU to provide a current overview empirical case studies of transnationalism in practice on transnational party, trade union and police cooperation to transnational education policy-making and transnational consensus-building in EMU governance. This volume will be of great interest to students in social sciences, contemporary history and law.
The Graz-Schumpeter annual lectures have grown in reputation over the years with impressive figures from academia such as Ian Steedman, J. Stanley Metcalfe and Duncan K. Foley contributing their own impressive series of lectures. The books produced as a result of these lectures are no less impressive and this latest volume from Alan Milward is a typically authoritative read.
The central concern ofThe Europeanization of National Polities? is to know and describe how far EU 'legal' citizens feel that they are actually part of a functioning European political system and how much they think of themselves as EU citizens. The authors report evidence of the levels of European identity, sense of EU representation and preferences for EU policy scope among European mass publics, which are the main dimensions of EU citizenship. The analysis uses a new comparative dataset on EU attitudes derived from a survey in 16 EU countries plus Serbia in 2007. This study shows that, despite initial expectations, levels of European identity, sense of EU representation, and preferences for EU policy scope among European mass publics did not display a strong trend in any particular direction during the period between 1975 and 2007. However, there are interesting variations in these measures of EU citizenship both across individuals and across countries that are described and explained by reference to a series of relevant hypotheses. The book pays particular attention to the inter-linkages among the three dimensions of citizenship itself. EU identity, representation and scope are all reciprocally related, but the representation dimension is key to the development of a generalised sense of a sense of citizenship at the EU level. This in turn places a significant premium on the need to address popular doubts about the EU's 'democratic deficit'.
Produced in association with the Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS), the Annual Review covers the major developments in the European Union in the past year. * Includes analytical articles written by leading experts in their respective fields covering a wide array of political, economic and legal issues * Contains specially commissioned articles by Tanja Borzel on governance in the European Union, Hanspeter Kriesi on the politicization of Europe and Kevin Featherstone on Greece s tumultuous year * The most up-to-date and authoritative source of information for practitioners, lecturers, students and researchers of European integration, as well as for general readers who simply want to know more about the European Union
Integrating the study of individual European nation-states within the framework of the European Union, this unique new text is essentially two books in one: a book on the EU and a comparative introduction to European politics. This text provides more value to students by combining two texts in one, but engages student interest and facilitates learning through a variety of useful features. Role-playing exercises encourage participation and test students' critical thinking skills, while an emphasis on the people behind the politics "humanizes" material and provides lively insights into contemporary European politics and society. To ensure student understanding, there is extensive material comparing and contrasting EU states to one another and to the United States, a thorough glossary at the end of the book, and an abundance of examples, tables, charts, and graphs to illustrate and extend the discussions. |
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