Which Policy for Europe?
Power and Conflict inside the European Commission
Julia Metz author Miriam Hartlapp author Christian Rauh author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:11th Sep '14
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The European Commission is at the center of the European Union's political system. Within its five-year terms each Commission proposes up to 2000 binding legal acts and therefore crucially shapes EU policy, which in turn impacts on the daily lives of more than 500 million European citizens. However, despite the Commissions key role in setting the agenda for European decision making, little is known about its internal dynamics when preparing legislation. This book provides a problem-driven, theoretically-founded, and empirically rich treatment of the so far still understudied process of position-formation inside the European Commission. It reveals that various internal political positions prevail and that the role of power and conflict inside the European Commission is essential to understanding its policy proposals. Opening the 'black box' of the Commission, the book identifies three ideal types of internal position-formation. The Commission is motivated by technocratic problem-solving, by competence-seeking utility maximization or ideologically-motivated policyseeking. Specifying conditions that favor one logic over the others, the typology furthers understanding of how the EU system functions and provides novel explanations of EU policies with substantial societal implications.
this is a timely and rigorous book. Its insights are the result of an innovative theoretical approach, as well as a very rich collection of data. By successfully refuting the idea that the Commission can be viewed as a unitary actor, this book has clear implications for the study of European policymaking more broadly. As more and more important decisions are taken at the European level, it is academics, activists and politicians who should be paying close attention to these arguments. * Muireann ODwyer, LSE Blog *
I can strongly recommend reading Which Policy for Europe. Given the growing prominence of EU politics and policymaking in the twenty-first century, substantive knowledge of its key institutions and their functioning is of utmost importance for European citizens. Hartlapp, Metz, and Rauh take the study of the Commission an enormous step forward, and their book is a must-read for all serious scholars of the EU. * Dirk Leuffen, University of Konstanz, Council for European Studies *
this book breaks new ground regarding the Commissions internal policy-development and while it does not convey any simple or simplistic message, it sets a high standard in terms of comprehensiveness and balance. * Michael Blauberger, University of Salzburg, EUSA Review *
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in research design development * Emmanuelle Schon-Quinlivan, JCMS *
this is a book that should be read by those interested in the European Commission and in EU policy drafting. * Antonis A. Ellinas, PADM *
To sum up, this is an ambitious book which, as it follows the progress of 48 pieces of legislation, enables us to gain a much better knowledge of the Commission viewed from the inside. While the approach is in part theoretical, the book is also fun to read as it provides details of the strategies deployed by the actors to make their case and achieve their desired ends. The book is to be unhesitatingly recommended. * Philippe Pochet, Transfer *
ISBN: 9780199688036
Dimensions: 273mm x 146mm x 9mm
Weight: 716g
360 pages