What Is the European Union? : Nature and Prospects

by Magnette

• ISBN13: 9781403941817
• ISBN10: 1403941815
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781137085870
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-07
• Publisher: Red Globe Pr

Summary

This is a distinctive new textbook on the political dynamics of the EU which offers a refreshing alternative to the traditional history-policy-institutions model. Assuming no prior knowledge, it introduces a wide range of key debates with a central focus on how the need to accommodate a range of state interests shapes the EU political system and on the implications this has for its democratic functionality and the process of Europeanization and integration.

Author Biography

Paul Magnette is Director, Institut d'Ttudes europiennes, UniversitT libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Series Editor's Foreword	ix
Introduction	1	(188)
The limits of the domestic analogy	1	(3)
Understanding cooperative sovereignty	4	(7)
1 Europeanization and its Limits	11	(19)
The founding compromises	12	(7)
The Maastricht moment	19	(4)
The uneven vectors of Europeanization	23	(7)
2 Policy-making in a Union of States	30	(18)
In which spheres does the EU matter?	31	(6)
How are the Union's policies made?	37	(11)
3 Cooperation and Conflict: the Union and its States	48	(16)
How the states control the Union	49	(9)
The states under the Union's control	58	(6)
4 Competing for Leadership: Commission vs. Council	64	(25)
What is the Community model?	64	(5)
The governments' omnipresence	69	(5)
Why the Commission cannot be a European government	74	(9)
What does the Commission do?	83	(6)
5 Building Compromise in a Divided Polity	89	(17)
The Council and the logic of conflict avoidance	89	(10)
The Commission's spirit of collegiality	99	(7)
6 Representation and Accountability: a Semi-parliamentary Regime	106	(21)
The rise and stagnation of the EU's Parliament	107	(4)
Forging consensus in a divided assembly	111	(6)
The logic of co-decision	117	(6)
The spirit of compromise	123	(4)
7 In the Shadow of the Law: Politics and the Court	127	(19)
Why a Court?	127	(2)
Judges facing political actors: prudent audacity	129	(7)
Politicians vs. judges: voluntary servitude	136	(4)
The Court and the future of EU politics	140	(6)
8 Politics and the People: a Fragmented Public Sphere	146	(21)
The polyphony of interests	148	(9)
Embryonic parties	157	(6)
Unstructured opinions	163	(4)
9 Participation and Citizenship: Towards a Transnational Democracy?	167	(22)
The EU's democratic deficit: a powerful myth	167	(4)
Parliamentary tropism	171	(3)
From parliamentary government to democratic governance	174	(9)
Beyond pluralism	183	(6)
10 Conclusion: the Union, its Nature and Value	189	(16)
Rethinking sovereignty	190	(5)
Why the EU cannot become a state	195	(3)
Towards a regime change?	198	(7)
References	205	(15)
Index	220