This definitive Handbook addresses the current lack of research into European policy-making and development using an interpretive perspective. Questioning areas that mainstream approaches tend to neglect, contributors target the ways in which ideas, arguments and discourses shape policies in the institutional context of the EU. The Handbook of European Policies provides an in-depth and comprehensive introduction for all significant policy areas in the EU, highlighting the theories of post-positivism and interpretivism. With rich explanations of different methodological and conceptual approaches to post-positivist research, key chapters consider the essential exchange between EU integration studies and EU policy studies, examining how both can benefit from this new and exciting approach. Offering theoretically grounded answers, this Handbook creates a dialogue between critical policy studies and European integration theory. Academics and practitioners concerned with the functioning of EU policies will benefit from the eminent contributors? insights into issues high on the institutional agenda of the EU and its member states. In addition, the Handbook is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate courses concerned with European integration and EU policies. Contributors include: R. Atkinson, P. Biegelbauer, Y. Bollen, D. Dakowska, F. Daviter, P.H. Feindt, H. Heinelt, J. Kantola, J.D. Kelstrup, M. Knodt, X. Kurowska, E. Lombardo, S. Munch, F. Nullmeier, J. Orbie, K.T. Paul, W. Petzold, C.M. Radaelli, D. Sack, E.K. Sarter, S. Saurugger, M.A. Schreurs, K. Serrano Velarde, V.A. Schmidt, M.A. Schreurs, H. Strassheim, M. Weber, K. Zimmermann

From Civilian Power to Superpower? asserts that a new, distinctive and significant actor has entered the international system. The text explores how the European Union has become a significant international actor without transforming itself into a nation-state. The international context, within which the Union now operates, and the instruments, now available at its disposal, have undergone a convergence to create circumstances in which the relative significance of the Union and its uniqueness in the international system has been enhanced.

This book explains the political background and describes the decision-making leading to European Monetary Union, as seen by a former central banker who participated in the process during more than two decades. Political rather than economic considerations were decisive in establishing EMU. French-German relations in particular form a thread that runs through the book, notably French efforts to replace German monetary domination by a form of decision-making France can influence. Thus, the issues involved are issues of power, though often presented in technical terms of economics.

Celebrating the existence of contending theories of European integration, the book begins with a critical exploration of the concepts and theories used to examine this unique policy, presenting theoretically informed, empirical studies of the origin of the key themes of European governance, territorial politics, domestic-European linkages and the EU's foreign policy affairs.

This book is distinguished by its use of the antebellum US experience as a foil to address the under-explored question of what makes the EU viable. The nature of political conflict in both cases is defined in terms of four contested rules of the game: state sovereignty, federal competences, political representation and decision-making procedures. Hence, viabilty is conceptualized as the ability to find an agreement over these four elements.
The analysis shows that, to remain viable, the antebellum USA resorted to an ultimately untenable voluntary centralization of these rules of the game. Conversely, the EU has maintained a dynamic equilibrium, although this is not a self-reinforcing process. The transatlantic contrast is then used to examine proposals for reforming the EU, especially its system of political representation. The comparison reveals that, despite high expectations, changing the system of representation is no shortcut solution for the EU's constitutional woes.

Experts present their analyses of historical developments as well as new economic challenges for the European Union. Contributors, representatives from major banks and academia, point out the dramatic economic shifts among and within Europe, Asia, and the United States. At the bottom line of this EU analysis are major implications for investors, managers, policymakers, and the public at large in both the EU and the rest of the world.

This book is the first full-spectrum analysis of Russian and European norms of political action, ranging from international law, ethics, and strategy, to the specific norms for the use of force. It brings together leading scholars from these various fields, examining the differences in norm understanding between Russia and Europe. In light of the 2014 occupation and annexation of Crimea by Russia, and its subsequent covert participation in the internal affairs of Ukraine, including aggressive flying and major military exercises, Russia seems to be a classical revisionist power, intent on changing the balance of power in Europe in particular. It also reaches beyond Europe, inserting itself as the key actor in the Syrian war. The book therefore considers how we should understand Russia. It also questions whether or not the West, in particular Europe, responds adequately in this delicate and dangerous new situation. The book concludes that at present Russia acts strategically and with considerable success whereas Europe is reactive in its response.

This volume provides a thorough analysis of Turkey's accession to the EU and contributes to ongoing debates about the future relationship of the two parties. It focuses on political, economic and cultural dimensions and outlines the prospects of this difficult encounter for Turkey and the European Union. It is a highly dynamic encounter and both questions and answers related to the accession seem constantly in flux. The book provides valuable information on the current state of affairs as well as looking to the years to come.

The European Union can be perceived as an enormous bilateral and multilateral process of internal and external negotiation. This book examines negotiations within member states, between member states, within and between the institutions of the Union and between the EU and other countries. It also analyzed processes, actors and interests. This book is, therefore, a unique probe into the relatively unknown arena of negotiation processes in the European Union.

The collapse of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union has resulted in a proliferation of discontented minorities. Preventing the violent conflict triggered by such disaffection has become a driving issue in post-Cold War Europe. National Minorities and the European Nation-States System reveals that the contemporary international system is the root cause of the problem and viable solutions to it must acknowledge this structural limitation.

This work offers a fresh perspective to the study of 'Europe' by placing the discussion of 'What is Europe?' and 'What is it to be European?', in a wider context of the study of modernity through a collection of nine case studies.

European Union equality and anti-discrimination law were revolutionized by the incorporation of Article 13 into the EC Treaty, adding new anti-discrimination grounds and new possibilities. This comprehensive 2007 volume provides a fresh approach to Article 13 and its directives; it adopts a contextual framework to equality and anti-discrimination law in the European Union. Part I deals with the evolution of Article 13, demographic and social change and the inter-relationship between European Equality Law and Human Rights. Part II contains expert essays on each of the Article 13 anti-discrimination grounds: sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation, with common themes weaving throughout. This book will be of interest to everyone concerned with combating discrimination, academics, NGOs, lawyers, human resource professionals, employers, employees, research students and many others in the European Union and beyond.

Divisions in the EU are considered, as well as the conflicts that have arisen from enlargement and foreign policy concerns. Leading specialists on European politics and society reflect on the nature of consensus and competition between elites, and whether the EU may be able to provide a sense of common identity and purpose for its citizens.

Protectionism is a major concern in the international trading community. The question that arises is how the emergence of protectionism can be prevented and whether regional trade arrangements are a suitable mechanism to enforce liberal trade policies. This book examines these issues, concluding that the success of regional trading arrangements in enforcing good trade policies depends on the quality of the regional agreement and its implementation--simple free trade area is unlikely to be sustainable in the long-run without firm commitments of members to deeper integration.

This volume addresses the problem of cohesion in the European Union. It examines EU cohesion policies and other policies which significantly reduce the likelihood of cohesion being achieved, and also challenges the idea that regional policy is a form of wealth distribution. It argues that cohesion, rather than being an objective in its own right, has been systematically redefined as a tool of competitiveness, and that neo-liberal economic priorities have led to the privileging of regional autonomy over cohesion.

A fast reduction of regional disparities within the EU is unlikely. Regional policy will thus remain an important European topic. This text analyzes regional policy and its co-ordination with other European and national public policies, namely investment grants, research and development policy and transport policy. The analysis identifies shortcomings within EU regional policy as well as co-ordination, problems with other public policies, and demonstrates how cohesion problems are often due to a lack of policy co-ordination at the domestic level.

There is a glaring imbalance between the impressive amount of research into first-tier EU decision-making by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament and the limited research into second-tier EU rule-making by the Commission and the comitology committees. This book seeks to redress that imbalance and find answers to fundamental unresolved questions about the comitology system. It looks at why the system was created, how it has evolved over time and how it functions day to day. The EU Comitology System in Theory and Practice applies a novel theoretical approach, the delegation perspective, and provides answers by analysing a plurality of data sources, including EU legislative databases, survey data of comitology committees, legal documents and news reports. The book argues that member states use the comitology system to strike a balance between delegating powers to the Commission and controlling it.

This systematic assessment of the -often opaque- European Council looks at its characteristics, leaders and output as well as its impact on EU supranational and intergovernmental dynamics. Taking account of historical and contemporary developments up to and beyond the Lisbon Treaty, it encourages in-depth understanding of this key institution.

The debate on the EU's legitimacy has long suffered from a number of serious misunderstandings. Supranational politics, Jurgen Neyer argues, is not about the making of public order in Europe but about internalizing external effects and fostering the individual right to justification. The concepts of 'state' and 'democracy', he suggests, are essentially useless for understanding and justifying the EU's structures and practices. The European Union is a dualistic polity that is not replacing but supplementing its member states. Its modus of operation is the joint exercise of pooled competencies on the normative basis of the principle of mutual recognition. He goes on to show that the EU provides an important cure to many of the problems that modern democracies are facing in a globalizing world. Legal integration internalizes external effects and democratizes democracies by transforming strategic international bargaining into a justificatory transnational discourse. The EU promotes the cause of justice by providing an effective remedy to horizontal and vertical power asymmetries, and to the arbitrariness of untamed anarchy. The EU is far from perfect, however. European politics is still deeply embedded in a culture of integration by stealth and closely connected to a deep mistrust in the capacity of ordinary citizens to understand politics. A major change in the constitutional set up of the EU is required. It should build on a new understanding of the EU's institutions as catering to the individual right to justification and give national parliaments a strategic role in further developing its constitutional design.

Germany has played a leading role in the development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union. This study assesses the influence of German policy makers on EU policy and the impact of EU membership on foreign policy making at the national level. The book concludes that limitations remain on the Europeanization of German foreign and security policy and Germany's ability to play a leading role in military crisis management.

Tannam focuses on the role of bureaucracies when dealing with conflict in two international organisations, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN), providing a unique comparative account of their policy-making procedures.

Is the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) an effective and legitimate tool in European social policy-making? Milena Buchs analyses the goals and instruments of the OMC, discusses approaches which theorize its functioning, examines its policy content and develops a framework for its evaluation. Through the examination of a case study the author demonstrates how policy actors apply the OMC in employment in Germany and the United Kingdom. The book concludes that the OMC pursues contradictory goals and is unlikely to achieve them simultaneously.

This book offers a comprehensive yet concise take on the legal regulation of the various phases in the complex cycle of armed conflicts, from prevention to reconstruction, and covering everything in between, in particular the vast body of rules laid down in current international humanitarian law. The manual combines a general theoretical approach with modern practice in order to offer a complete picture of the law before, during and after warfareThrough a series of fourteen thematic chapters that logically follow from one to another, scholars and practitioners tackle core issues relating to the international regulation of armed conflicts, while situating them in a broader societal context. Particular attention is given to the emergence of the European Union as an increasingly important regional and global player in international peace and security. In combination with the broad scope and accessible nature of the collection, the experience and ambition on display in this volume makes it a unique reference tool for students, scholars, practitioners, civil servants, diplomats and humanitarian and human rights workers around the globe. It is complemented by, and a helpful companion to, J. Wouters and P. De Man, Humanitarian and Security Law: A Compendium of International and European Instruments.

This work examines European democracy, showing how it has developed through key episodes in the long history of the process: precursors in the Low Countries, the founding of British parliamentary, then American federal democracy, post-revolutionary France, post-war Germany, and the European Parliament. It explores the significance of each episode in the development of national or federal democracy and concludes with a positive assessment of the prospects of liberal democracy. This book should be of interest to political scientists, historians and others concerned with the development of democracy in Europe and beyond.

This book examines EU discourses on Turkey in the European Commission, European Parliament and three EU member states (France, Germany and Britain), to reveal the discursive construction of European identity through EU representations of Turkey. Based on a poststructuralist framework that conceptualizes identity as discursively constructed through difference, the book applies Critical Discourse Analysis to the analysis of texts and argues that there are multiple Europe(s) that are constructed in talks over the enlargement of Turkey, varying within and between different ideological, national and institutional contexts. The book discerns four main discourse topics over which these Europe(s) are constructed, corresponding to the conceptualization of Europe as a security community, as an upholder of democratic values, as a political project and as a cultural space. The book argues that Turkey constitutes a key case in exploring various discursive constructs of European identity, since the talks on Turkey pave the way for the construction of different versions of Europe in discourse.