David M. Farrell and Roger Scully
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199285020
- eISBN:
- 9780191713651
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199285020.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The past fifteen years have seen declining public support for European integration, and widespread suggestions that a legitimacy crisis faces the European Union (EU). Many in the EU have believed ...
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The past fifteen years have seen declining public support for European integration, and widespread suggestions that a legitimacy crisis faces the European Union (EU). Many in the EU have believed that this problem could be effectively tackled by vesting greater powers in the European Parliament (EP), the Union's only directly-elected institution. The central argument of this book is that, while considerable efforts have been made to increase the status of the EP, it is in crucial respects a failure as a representative body. This failure is grounded in the manner in which the parliament is elected. The electoral systems used for EP elections in many EU countries are, the book argues, actively obstructive of Europe's voters being represented in the way that they are most likely to respond positively towards. While the behaviour of EP members is shaped strongly by the electoral systems under which they are elected (which vary across the twenty-five member states of the EU), the electoral systems currently in place push most of them to behave in ways contrary to what citizens desire. Drawing on public opinion data, surveys of MEPs and considerable qualitative interview evidence, this book that the failure of parliamentary representation in the EU has a strong foundation in electoral institutions.Less
The past fifteen years have seen declining public support for European integration, and widespread suggestions that a legitimacy crisis faces the European Union (EU). Many in the EU have believed that this problem could be effectively tackled by vesting greater powers in the European Parliament (EP), the Union's only directly-elected institution. The central argument of this book is that, while considerable efforts have been made to increase the status of the EP, it is in crucial respects a failure as a representative body. This failure is grounded in the manner in which the parliament is elected. The electoral systems used for EP elections in many EU countries are, the book argues, actively obstructive of Europe's voters being represented in the way that they are most likely to respond positively towards. While the behaviour of EP members is shaped strongly by the electoral systems under which they are elected (which vary across the twenty-five member states of the EU), the electoral systems currently in place push most of them to behave in ways contrary to what citizens desire. Drawing on public opinion data, surveys of MEPs and considerable qualitative interview evidence, this book that the failure of parliamentary representation in the EU has a strong foundation in electoral institutions.
Jan Zielonka
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199292219
- eISBN:
- 9780191603754
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199292213.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter traces the initial gap between the current and the new member states. It tries to establish to what degree various domestic reforms undertaken by individual post-communist countries have ...
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This chapter traces the initial gap between the current and the new member states. It tries to establish to what degree various domestic reforms undertaken by individual post-communist countries have succeeded in rendering them more compatible with the former EU-15. It argues that the overall success of the reform process is beyond doubt in all eight countries that joined the Union in 2004, and even in the so-called “pre-ins”: Romania and Bulgaria. However, although new members have made considerable progress in securing peace and building democracy and free markets, their progress is uneven across individual fields and countries, thus increasing diversity within the EU as a consequence of enlargement.Less
This chapter traces the initial gap between the current and the new member states. It tries to establish to what degree various domestic reforms undertaken by individual post-communist countries have succeeded in rendering them more compatible with the former EU-15. It argues that the overall success of the reform process is beyond doubt in all eight countries that joined the Union in 2004, and even in the so-called “pre-ins”: Romania and Bulgaria. However, although new members have made considerable progress in securing peace and building democracy and free markets, their progress is uneven across individual fields and countries, thus increasing diversity within the EU as a consequence of enlargement.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199266975
- eISBN:
- 9780191709012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266975.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter argues that it would do better to conceive of the EU as a regional state in the making, and as such as a regional union of nation-states in which the creative tension between the Union ...
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This chapter argues that it would do better to conceive of the EU as a regional state in the making, and as such as a regional union of nation-states in which the creative tension between the Union and its member-states ensures both ever-increasing regional integration and ever-continuing national differentiation. It considers the EU’s move to regional sovereignty, the variability of the EU’s regional boundaries, the composite character of EU identity, the compound framework, and the fragmented nature of the EU’s democracy. It ends with a discussion of the real sources of the democratic deficit in the EU, linked to the lack of ideas and discourse about national democracy, and how this affects simple and compound national polities.Less
This chapter argues that it would do better to conceive of the EU as a regional state in the making, and as such as a regional union of nation-states in which the creative tension between the Union and its member-states ensures both ever-increasing regional integration and ever-continuing national differentiation. It considers the EU’s move to regional sovereignty, the variability of the EU’s regional boundaries, the composite character of EU identity, the compound framework, and the fragmented nature of the EU’s democracy. It ends with a discussion of the real sources of the democratic deficit in the EU, linked to the lack of ideas and discourse about national democracy, and how this affects simple and compound national polities.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199266975
- eISBN:
- 9780191709012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266975.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter begins with a brief overview of the EU’s policymaking processes in comparison with national processes. It then outlines the EU’s impact on the macro patterns of its member-states’ ...
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This chapter begins with a brief overview of the EU’s policymaking processes in comparison with national processes. It then outlines the EU’s impact on the macro patterns of its member-states’ national policymaking and its impact on the micro patterns of member-states’ sectoral policymaking. This is followed by an extensive illustration of both macro and micro patterns of policymaking in France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. Although Europeanization has been equally (although differently) disruptive to the statist patterns of policymaking of France and of Britain, Britain has had a harder time accepting EU-related changes but an easier time in influencing their formulation. Europeanization has yet again been least disruptive to Germany’s corporatist and legalistic patterns of policymaking, and most salutary to those of Italy, by reinforcing corporatism while denying clientelism.Less
This chapter begins with a brief overview of the EU’s policymaking processes in comparison with national processes. It then outlines the EU’s impact on the macro patterns of its member-states’ national policymaking and its impact on the micro patterns of member-states’ sectoral policymaking. This is followed by an extensive illustration of both macro and micro patterns of policymaking in France, Britain, Germany, and Italy. Although Europeanization has been equally (although differently) disruptive to the statist patterns of policymaking of France and of Britain, Britain has had a harder time accepting EU-related changes but an easier time in influencing their formulation. Europeanization has yet again been least disruptive to Germany’s corporatist and legalistic patterns of policymaking, and most salutary to those of Italy, by reinforcing corporatism while denying clientelism.
Vivien A. Schmidt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199266975
- eISBN:
- 9780191709012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199266975.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This concluding chapter argues that the prospects for democracy in the EU are nevertheless good so long as national leaders and national publics face up to the problems. But facing up to the problems ...
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This concluding chapter argues that the prospects for democracy in the EU are nevertheless good so long as national leaders and national publics face up to the problems. But facing up to the problems will not be easy. For the EU level, it requires recognizing that for the time being, at least, reinforcing democracy cannot mean creating more governing by and of the people through any directly elected government. And yet more ‘democracy’ is clearly required. The difficulty is that doing more with regard to democracy butts up against the contradictions inherent in the fragmented basis of EU democracy.Less
This concluding chapter argues that the prospects for democracy in the EU are nevertheless good so long as national leaders and national publics face up to the problems. But facing up to the problems will not be easy. For the EU level, it requires recognizing that for the time being, at least, reinforcing democracy cannot mean creating more governing by and of the people through any directly elected government. And yet more ‘democracy’ is clearly required. The difficulty is that doing more with regard to democracy butts up against the contradictions inherent in the fragmented basis of EU democracy.
Andrew Jordan and Adriaan Schout
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286959
- eISBN:
- 9780191713279
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286959.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter introduces the basic administrative mechanisms for coordinating EU policy in the five actors. For each actor, it describes the most important administrative parts and explains the ...
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This chapter introduces the basic administrative mechanisms for coordinating EU policy in the five actors. For each actor, it describes the most important administrative parts and explains the processes through which they seek to coordinate their input to EU policy making, both internally (that is, intra-departmentally) and with cognate actors (that is, inter-departmentally). To permit comparison, it begins by analysing the main coordination instruments and roles within each actor. It then describes the mechanisms through which each coordinates the various phases of EU policy making described in Chapter 2. Finally, it comments on how each is currently attempting to upgrade its coordination system.Less
This chapter introduces the basic administrative mechanisms for coordinating EU policy in the five actors. For each actor, it describes the most important administrative parts and explains the processes through which they seek to coordinate their input to EU policy making, both internally (that is, intra-departmentally) and with cognate actors (that is, inter-departmentally). To permit comparison, it begins by analysing the main coordination instruments and roles within each actor. It then describes the mechanisms through which each coordinates the various phases of EU policy making described in Chapter 2. Finally, it comments on how each is currently attempting to upgrade its coordination system.
Albert Weale, Geoffrey Pridham, Michelle Cini, Dimitrios Konstadakopulos, Martin Porter, and Brendan Flynn
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199257478
- eISBN:
- 9780191698460
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199257478.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union, Environmental Politics
Over the last thirty years, the European Union (EU) has created a system of environmental governance in Europe. With a large number of legislative measures, the EU's environmental policy is broad in ...
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Over the last thirty years, the European Union (EU) has created a system of environmental governance in Europe. With a large number of legislative measures, the EU's environmental policy is broad in scope, extensive in detail, and often stringent in effect. Environmental governance also extends to the ways in which decision-making on environmental policy has become institutionalised within Europe, both at the level of the EU itself and in the practices of the member states. This book seeks to understand this new system of environmental governance both at the European level and at the level of member states. It argues that the system is multi-level, horizontally complex, evolving, and incomplete. Locating developments at the European level in theories of European integration, it goes on to examine the extent of convergence and divergence in environmental policy among six member states: Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It then looks at the operation of the system of environmental governance through an examination of policy case studies before examining the wider political significance of these developments.Less
Over the last thirty years, the European Union (EU) has created a system of environmental governance in Europe. With a large number of legislative measures, the EU's environmental policy is broad in scope, extensive in detail, and often stringent in effect. Environmental governance also extends to the ways in which decision-making on environmental policy has become institutionalised within Europe, both at the level of the EU itself and in the practices of the member states. This book seeks to understand this new system of environmental governance both at the European level and at the level of member states. It argues that the system is multi-level, horizontally complex, evolving, and incomplete. Locating developments at the European level in theories of European integration, it goes on to examine the extent of convergence and divergence in environmental policy among six member states: Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It then looks at the operation of the system of environmental governance through an examination of policy case studies before examining the wider political significance of these developments.
Marise Cremona (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199644735
- eISBN:
- 9780191740695
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199644735.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, EU Law, Public International Law
The enlargement of the EU has highlighted the challenges of compliance, but it has also helped to suggest new compliance methodologies. The combination of methodologies used by the EU and the ...
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The enlargement of the EU has highlighted the challenges of compliance, but it has also helped to suggest new compliance methodologies. The combination of methodologies used by the EU and the differing levels of enforcement available are characteristic of the EU's compliance system, permitting the remarkable reach and penetration of EU norms into national systems. This study offers assessment of the enforcement procedures and compliance processes that have been developed to ensure Member State compliance with EU law. The first three chapters examine the merits of combing both coercive and problem-solving strategies, describing the systems in place and focusing on the different levels at which compliance mechanisms operate: national, regional, and international. It also looks at horizontal compliance as well as ‘from above’ compliance, creating a complex and rich picture of the EU's system. The final three chapters of the book focus on different aspects of compliance seen from a national perspective. The first analyses the two bases for the use of criminal sanctions to enforce EU law: the ability of Member States to choose to include criminal penalties for non-compliance in their national law; and the imposition of criminal sanctions at a national level by EU law itself. The book then moves on to a discussion of the role of national courts in ensuring Member State compliance with, and enforcement of, EU law. It examines the role of national constitutional courts in facilitating compliance with EU law and draws comparisons between EU law and international law and their interactions both with each other and with national constitutional courts.Less
The enlargement of the EU has highlighted the challenges of compliance, but it has also helped to suggest new compliance methodologies. The combination of methodologies used by the EU and the differing levels of enforcement available are characteristic of the EU's compliance system, permitting the remarkable reach and penetration of EU norms into national systems. This study offers assessment of the enforcement procedures and compliance processes that have been developed to ensure Member State compliance with EU law. The first three chapters examine the merits of combing both coercive and problem-solving strategies, describing the systems in place and focusing on the different levels at which compliance mechanisms operate: national, regional, and international. It also looks at horizontal compliance as well as ‘from above’ compliance, creating a complex and rich picture of the EU's system. The final three chapters of the book focus on different aspects of compliance seen from a national perspective. The first analyses the two bases for the use of criminal sanctions to enforce EU law: the ability of Member States to choose to include criminal penalties for non-compliance in their national law; and the imposition of criminal sanctions at a national level by EU law itself. The book then moves on to a discussion of the role of national courts in ensuring Member State compliance with, and enforcement of, EU law. It examines the role of national constitutional courts in facilitating compliance with EU law and draws comparisons between EU law and international law and their interactions both with each other and with national constitutional courts.
Alec Stone Sweet
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199275533
- eISBN:
- 9780191602009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019927553X.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
An examination is made of the emergence and institutionalization of a new policy domain for the European Community (EC): environmental protection – a domain that did not exist before the signing of ...
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An examination is made of the emergence and institutionalization of a new policy domain for the European Community (EC): environmental protection – a domain that did not exist before the signing of the Single European Act (SEA) of 1985, when the Member States formally recognized the EC's legislative authority in the field, and the strengthening of these competences in 1992 by the Treaty of European Union and in 1997 by the Treaty of Amsterdam. Partly owing to lack of Treaty basis, and partly because of factors to be discussed in this chapter, the influence of the legal system on the development of the EC's policy has not been as pervasive as it has been for the main categories of law and policy established under the original Rome Treaty. The first section, ‘The Policy Domain’ provides a brief overview of the evolution of environmental protection as a supranational field of governance. The second focuses on the attempts of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to manage the relationship between freedom of trade (free movement of goods) and the EC's environmental policies, showing that this case law served to legitimize the EC's competences in the field before the SEA. The third section assesses the Court's interactions with the EC legislator and the Member States from the perspective of delegation theory, examining both what happens when the ECJ acts as a trustee of the Treaty, and when it functions as an agent of the legislator, i.e. when it is asked to resolve disputes about the meaning of provisions contained in EC statutes; no evidence was found that the ECJ regularly defers to the interests of powerful Member States, rather, it has pursued the ‘Community's interest’, broadly conceived, even when engaging in routine statutory interpretation.Less
An examination is made of the emergence and institutionalization of a new policy domain for the European Community (EC): environmental protection – a domain that did not exist before the signing of the Single European Act (SEA) of 1985, when the Member States formally recognized the EC's legislative authority in the field, and the strengthening of these competences in 1992 by the Treaty of European Union and in 1997 by the Treaty of Amsterdam. Partly owing to lack of Treaty basis, and partly because of factors to be discussed in this chapter, the influence of the legal system on the development of the EC's policy has not been as pervasive as it has been for the main categories of law and policy established under the original Rome Treaty. The first section, ‘The Policy Domain’ provides a brief overview of the evolution of environmental protection as a supranational field of governance. The second focuses on the attempts of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to manage the relationship between freedom of trade (free movement of goods) and the EC's environmental policies, showing that this case law served to legitimize the EC's competences in the field before the SEA. The third section assesses the Court's interactions with the EC legislator and the Member States from the perspective of delegation theory, examining both what happens when the ECJ acts as a trustee of the Treaty, and when it functions as an agent of the legislator, i.e. when it is asked to resolve disputes about the meaning of provisions contained in EC statutes; no evidence was found that the ECJ regularly defers to the interests of powerful Member States, rather, it has pursued the ‘Community's interest’, broadly conceived, even when engaging in routine statutory interpretation.
Alec Stone Sweet
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199275533
- eISBN:
- 9780191602009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019927553X.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The conclusion addresses certain major features of the overall course of European integration in light of the book's priorities and findings, indicating that the book has pursued two main objectives: ...
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The conclusion addresses certain major features of the overall course of European integration in light of the book's priorities and findings, indicating that the book has pursued two main objectives: the first, to demonstrate that the course of European integration has been profoundly shaped by a system of adjudication managed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ); the second, to test a range of propositions about how the legal system operates, and to trace the effects of the ECJ's case law on policy outcomes, and on the policy‐relevant behaviour of nonjudicial actors. In some areas, including free movement of goods and sex equality, judges – not governments or legislatures or the Member States – have broadly determined the paths along which institutions evolved. Judicial supremacy partly inheres in the ECJ's status as trustee, partly in the dynamics of the constitutionalization process provoked by the ECJ in the mid‐1960s, and partly by the propagation and diffusion of specific techniques of judicial governance, such as those associated with precedent‐based balancing standards. Every chapter of the book presents evidence refuting claims that the ECJ and the national courts operate as relatively perfect ‘agents’ of the Member States or national governments, and shows that the activities of supranational organizations such as the ECJ routinely produce ‘unintended consequences, from the perspective of those who have designed and redesigned the EC. The author concludes that he does not see how theories that make predictions about how integration has proceeded from institutional design can be rescued.Less
The conclusion addresses certain major features of the overall course of European integration in light of the book's priorities and findings, indicating that the book has pursued two main objectives: the first, to demonstrate that the course of European integration has been profoundly shaped by a system of adjudication managed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ); the second, to test a range of propositions about how the legal system operates, and to trace the effects of the ECJ's case law on policy outcomes, and on the policy‐relevant behaviour of nonjudicial actors. In some areas, including free movement of goods and sex equality, judges – not governments or legislatures or the Member States – have broadly determined the paths along which institutions evolved. Judicial supremacy partly inheres in the ECJ's status as trustee, partly in the dynamics of the constitutionalization process provoked by the ECJ in the mid‐1960s, and partly by the propagation and diffusion of specific techniques of judicial governance, such as those associated with precedent‐based balancing standards. Every chapter of the book presents evidence refuting claims that the ECJ and the national courts operate as relatively perfect ‘agents’ of the Member States or national governments, and shows that the activities of supranational organizations such as the ECJ routinely produce ‘unintended consequences, from the perspective of those who have designed and redesigned the EC. The author concludes that he does not see how theories that make predictions about how integration has proceeded from institutional design can be rescued.
Vincent Wright
Hussein Kassim, Anand Menon, and B. Guy Peters (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199248056
- eISBN:
- 9780191601545
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199248052.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This book is the second of two volumes in which leading scholars examine the way in which European Union (EU) member states co-ordinate their European policies, and investigates the structures, ...
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This book is the second of two volumes in which leading scholars examine the way in which European Union (EU) member states co-ordinate their European policies, and investigates the structures, institutions and processes put in place by national governments in Brussels. The companion volume, published in 2000, examines the national co-ordination of EU policy at the domestic level. This second book offers a comprehensive, comparative analysis of national co-ordination at the European level. It investigates the way in which eleven member states—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom—co-ordinate their European policy in Brussels. It examines their co-ordination ambitions, the value attached to co-ordination and their conception of it, and the strategies adopted by the member states for defining and defending a national position in EU policy-making. It looks in detail at the organization and operation of the permanent representations—the principal institution charged by governments with safeguarding the ‘national interest’ in Brussels—and at how, to what extent (indeed, whether) they succeed in reconciling their responsibilities as both agencies of the national government and part of the EU decision-making system. The book assesses the effectiveness of the various national arrangements in achieving their intended goals, and identifies the factors that influence or determine performance at the European level. The institutions, structures, and processes utilized by the member states in Brussels are compared with a view to discovering whether there is evidence of convergence around a common model or whether national differences persist. All of the chapters except for the Conclusion are extensively revised versions of papers presented at a workshop, held at Nuffield College, Oxford, on 13–14 May 1999.Less
This book is the second of two volumes in which leading scholars examine the way in which European Union (EU) member states co-ordinate their European policies, and investigates the structures, institutions and processes put in place by national governments in Brussels. The companion volume, published in 2000, examines the national co-ordination of EU policy at the domestic level. This second book offers a comprehensive, comparative analysis of national co-ordination at the European level. It investigates the way in which eleven member states—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom—co-ordinate their European policy in Brussels. It examines their co-ordination ambitions, the value attached to co-ordination and their conception of it, and the strategies adopted by the member states for defining and defending a national position in EU policy-making. It looks in detail at the organization and operation of the permanent representations—the principal institution charged by governments with safeguarding the ‘national interest’ in Brussels—and at how, to what extent (indeed, whether) they succeed in reconciling their responsibilities as both agencies of the national government and part of the EU decision-making system. The book assesses the effectiveness of the various national arrangements in achieving their intended goals, and identifies the factors that influence or determine performance at the European level. The institutions, structures, and processes utilized by the member states in Brussels are compared with a view to discovering whether there is evidence of convergence around a common model or whether national differences persist. All of the chapters except for the Conclusion are extensively revised versions of papers presented at a workshop, held at Nuffield College, Oxford, on 13–14 May 1999.
Michael Banton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280613
- eISBN:
- 9780191598760
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280610.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
UN bodies with responsibility for action against racial discrimination are described. During the period 1945–1995, the number of UN member states grew from 29 to 185. The work of the human rights ...
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UN bodies with responsibility for action against racial discrimination are described. During the period 1945–1995, the number of UN member states grew from 29 to 185. The work of the human rights treaty bodies is complemented by that of the special rapporteurs appointed by the Human Rights Commission. They trace their authority to the UN Charter binding upon all member states as opposed to the smaller numbers of states that have accepted treaty obligations.Less
UN bodies with responsibility for action against racial discrimination are described. During the period 1945–1995, the number of UN member states grew from 29 to 185. The work of the human rights treaty bodies is complemented by that of the special rapporteurs appointed by the Human Rights Commission. They trace their authority to the UN Charter binding upon all member states as opposed to the smaller numbers of states that have accepted treaty obligations.
Helen Wallace
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296409
- eISBN:
- 9780191599989
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296401.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
’Flexibility’ emerged as one of the key words in the practitioners’ discourse during the Intergovernmental Conference leading to the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997. The term became part of the new ...
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’Flexibility’ emerged as one of the key words in the practitioners’ discourse during the Intergovernmental Conference leading to the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997. The term became part of the new Eurospeak of the process, and shorthand for a broad‐ranging debate on the institutions and politics of the EU. It surfaced much as 'subsidiarity’ had done in the negotiations leading to agreement at Maastricht in 1991. Subsidiarity had then appeared to provide both a rationale and an operating tool for rearranging the division of labour between the European and national policy arenas. This chapter argues that similarly flexibility, according to its proponents, promised a new principle and a new tool for responding to differences in the enthusiasms and capabilities of the member states of the EU to take on new tasks of policy integration. In the period following Maastricht, it had become evident that subsidiarity was both a contested concept and a muddled guide for practice. In the aftermath of Amsterdam, flexibility needs to be examined both for its role as a potential principle in the integration process and for the scope it might offer for resolving problems of practice. This chapter develops this proposition more in detail. To that end, it puts the development of the principles of subsidiarity and flexibility in historical perspective.Less
’Flexibility’ emerged as one of the key words in the practitioners’ discourse during the Intergovernmental Conference leading to the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997. The term became part of the new Eurospeak of the process, and shorthand for a broad‐ranging debate on the institutions and politics of the EU. It surfaced much as 'subsidiarity’ had done in the negotiations leading to agreement at Maastricht in 1991. Subsidiarity had then appeared to provide both a rationale and an operating tool for rearranging the division of labour between the European and national policy arenas. This chapter argues that similarly flexibility, according to its proponents, promised a new principle and a new tool for responding to differences in the enthusiasms and capabilities of the member states of the EU to take on new tasks of policy integration. In the period following Maastricht, it had become evident that subsidiarity was both a contested concept and a muddled guide for practice. In the aftermath of Amsterdam, flexibility needs to be examined both for its role as a potential principle in the integration process and for the scope it might offer for resolving problems of practice. This chapter develops this proposition more in detail. To that end, it puts the development of the principles of subsidiarity and flexibility in historical perspective.
Ulrich Sedelmeier
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296409
- eISBN:
- 9780191599989
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296401.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Despite the member states’ failure to agree in the Amsterdam Treaty on institutional reforms that they presented before the 1996/7 IGC as prerequisites for enlargement, we should not expect the ...
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Despite the member states’ failure to agree in the Amsterdam Treaty on institutional reforms that they presented before the 1996/7 IGC as prerequisites for enlargement, we should not expect the enlargement process to come to a standstill. The inability to agree on necessary reforms does indeed highlight the EU's difficulties of finding a response to the various adjustment pressures that would not threaten some member states’ material interests. However, there are countervailing dynamics underpinning the enlargement process that appear sufficiently strong to continue to carry the process forward. These dynamics are not easily captured in materialist rationalist analyses: the EU's self‐image or collective identity in its relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) inclines EU policy‐makers towards accommodating these countries’ preferences to join. However, the impact of this identity is uneven among different groups of EU policy‐makers. Thus, while we should expect the enlargement process to continue despite countervailing material interests, the accommodation of the CEECs’ preferences in substantive sectoral policies will vary and will be limited in most issue areas.Less
Despite the member states’ failure to agree in the Amsterdam Treaty on institutional reforms that they presented before the 1996/7 IGC as prerequisites for enlargement, we should not expect the enlargement process to come to a standstill. The inability to agree on necessary reforms does indeed highlight the EU's difficulties of finding a response to the various adjustment pressures that would not threaten some member states’ material interests. However, there are countervailing dynamics underpinning the enlargement process that appear sufficiently strong to continue to carry the process forward. These dynamics are not easily captured in materialist rationalist analyses: the EU's self‐image or collective identity in its relations with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) inclines EU policy‐makers towards accommodating these countries’ preferences to join. However, the impact of this identity is uneven among different groups of EU policy‐makers. Thus, while we should expect the enlargement process to continue despite countervailing material interests, the accommodation of the CEECs’ preferences in substantive sectoral policies will vary and will be limited in most issue areas.
Ulf Sverdrup
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296409
- eISBN:
- 9780191599989
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296401.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The 1996‐7 intergovernmental conference was convened to prepare the European Union (EU) for the challenges of the twenty‐first century, for which a radical review and reform of the EU's institutions ...
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The 1996‐7 intergovernmental conference was convened to prepare the European Union (EU) for the challenges of the twenty‐first century, for which a radical review and reform of the EU's institutions was considered to be of paramount importance. This chapter investigates and maps the organizational factors that constrained and facilitated institutional reform in the EU. It challenges the liberal intergovernmental perspective, which argues that the preferences and power of the member states are the key explanatory factors for such reform. On the basis of empirical investigation of the 1996‐97 IGC, it suggests that an institutional perspective on governance reveals important aspects of political reform that have previously been neglected. It demonstrates that a careful analysis of the constraints and possibilities created by the path‐dependent development of the EU, the internal dynamics and the decision‐making procedures in the IGC, and a distinct temporal location help increase our understanding of the EU.Less
The 1996‐7 intergovernmental conference was convened to prepare the European Union (EU) for the challenges of the twenty‐first century, for which a radical review and reform of the EU's institutions was considered to be of paramount importance. This chapter investigates and maps the organizational factors that constrained and facilitated institutional reform in the EU. It challenges the liberal intergovernmental perspective, which argues that the preferences and power of the member states are the key explanatory factors for such reform. On the basis of empirical investigation of the 1996‐97 IGC, it suggests that an institutional perspective on governance reveals important aspects of political reform that have previously been neglected. It demonstrates that a careful analysis of the constraints and possibilities created by the path‐dependent development of the EU, the internal dynamics and the decision‐making procedures in the IGC, and a distinct temporal location help increase our understanding of the EU.
Bernhard Wessels
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296614
- eISBN:
- 9780191600227
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296614.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This chapter is the fifth of six on the question of political representation in the EU. It analyses to what extent institutional differences between the member‐states of the EU are constraining the ...
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This chapter is the fifth of six on the question of political representation in the EU. It analyses to what extent institutional differences between the member‐states of the EU are constraining the attitudes of representatives in respect of one major aspect—whom to represent; this is done by exploring the role orientations of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and comparing them with those of members of 11 national parliaments (MNPs). The first section of the chapter presents a brief conceptualization of representational roles by looking at general conclusions from previous research, and defining 5 representational foci in two dimensions: group specificity (party voters; specific (interest) groups) and regional scope (constituency; all people in the nation concerned; all people in Europe). The next section looks at the distributions of these five foci of representation across parliamentary levels (MEPs or MNPs) over the 15 member‐states of the EU; data are from the 1996 European Parliamentarians Study, and indicate striking differences between countries. The last (and largest) section of the chapter looks for explanations for these differences in foci of representation. These include personal factors (social background; political experience), institutional settings (the regional dimension—the relationship between role orientation, competitiveness and electoral systems; the group dimension—the relationship between role orientation and the encompassiveness and inclusiveness of interest group systems; and the European focus of representation in relation to the size and experience of a member‐state).Less
This chapter is the fifth of six on the question of political representation in the EU. It analyses to what extent institutional differences between the member‐states of the EU are constraining the attitudes of representatives in respect of one major aspect—whom to represent; this is done by exploring the role orientations of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and comparing them with those of members of 11 national parliaments (MNPs). The first section of the chapter presents a brief conceptualization of representational roles by looking at general conclusions from previous research, and defining 5 representational foci in two dimensions: group specificity (party voters; specific (interest) groups) and regional scope (constituency; all people in the nation concerned; all people in Europe). The next section looks at the distributions of these five foci of representation across parliamentary levels (MEPs or MNPs) over the 15 member‐states of the EU; data are from the 1996 European Parliamentarians Study, and indicate striking differences between countries. The last (and largest) section of the chapter looks for explanations for these differences in foci of representation. These include personal factors (social background; political experience), institutional settings (the regional dimension—the relationship between role orientation, competitiveness and electoral systems; the group dimension—the relationship between role orientation and the encompassiveness and inclusiveness of interest group systems; and the European focus of representation in relation to the size and experience of a member‐state).
Christopher Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296393
- eISBN:
- 9780191599002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296398.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Starting from concerns at the lack of legitimacy and accountability of European monetary institutions, the author develops proposals for improving the accountability of the European Central Bank and ...
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Starting from concerns at the lack of legitimacy and accountability of European monetary institutions, the author develops proposals for improving the accountability of the European Central Bank and embedding it in a democratic institutional context resembling that of individual member states.Less
Starting from concerns at the lack of legitimacy and accountability of European monetary institutions, the author develops proposals for improving the accountability of the European Central Bank and embedding it in a democratic institutional context resembling that of individual member states.
Gabriele Tondl
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296393
- eISBN:
- 9780191599002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296398.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Loss of financial policy autonomy could create major problems for weaker national economies within European monetary union. Considerable progress could be made in tackling this if member governments ...
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Loss of financial policy autonomy could create major problems for weaker national economies within European monetary union. Considerable progress could be made in tackling this if member governments were prepared to accept an element of fiscal federalism in order to redistribute resources across EU regions and member states.Less
Loss of financial policy autonomy could create major problems for weaker national economies within European monetary union. Considerable progress could be made in tackling this if member governments were prepared to accept an element of fiscal federalism in order to redistribute resources across EU regions and member states.
Sydney D. Bailey and Sam Daws
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280736
- eISBN:
- 9780191598746
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280734.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Looks at the people that make up the UN Security Council. It starts with sections on the Secretary‐General and the President, and goes on to discuss permanent members (of which there are five — from ...
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Looks at the people that make up the UN Security Council. It starts with sections on the Secretary‐General and the President, and goes on to discuss permanent members (of which there are five — from China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States) and non‐permanent members, of which details are given for each year from 1946 to 1997. The next section gives details of other participants in the UN Security Council: UN member states that are non‐members of the Council; the PLO/Permanent Observer for Palestine; the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; UN member states that are non‐members of the Council in informal consultations of the whole; troop‐contributing states; individuals and regional organizations. The next two sections of the chapter discuss permanent missions of member states to the Council, and groups (bodies of UN members) within the Council with certain ideological or regional interests. The remaining sections discuss regionalism, credentials, the representation of China and diplomatic precedence.Less
Looks at the people that make up the UN Security Council. It starts with sections on the Secretary‐General and the President, and goes on to discuss permanent members (of which there are five — from China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States) and non‐permanent members, of which details are given for each year from 1946 to 1997. The next section gives details of other participants in the UN Security Council: UN member states that are non‐members of the Council; the PLO/Permanent Observer for Palestine; the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; UN member states that are non‐members of the Council in informal consultations of the whole; troop‐contributing states; individuals and regional organizations. The next two sections of the chapter discuss permanent missions of member states to the Council, and groups (bodies of UN members) within the Council with certain ideological or regional interests. The remaining sections discuss regionalism, credentials, the representation of China and diplomatic precedence.
Neill Nugent and William Paterson
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199250158
- eISBN:
- 9780191599439
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250154.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
An examination is made of the political system of the European Union (EU), which seeks to highlight its key features. One of these underpins much of the explanation and analysis of the chapter: that ...
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An examination is made of the political system of the European Union (EU), which seeks to highlight its key features. One of these underpins much of the explanation and analysis of the chapter: that the European Union is at the centre of what is becoming a European system of governance, in which different levels of government are increasingly interpenetrated and in which boundaries between the EU and its member states are becoming eroded. The chapter begins with an analysis of the nature of EU policy activity, and this is followed by an examination of EU decision making, focused particularly around the question of who governs. Next, there is an analysis of the nature of the EU as a political system, with particular consideration given to the extent to which it displays the characteristics of a state on the one hand and features of new governance on the other. There is then an examination of an issue that concerns all political systems and which has become increasingly debated in EU circles – the nature of the EU’s legitimacy.Less
An examination is made of the political system of the European Union (EU), which seeks to highlight its key features. One of these underpins much of the explanation and analysis of the chapter: that the European Union is at the centre of what is becoming a European system of governance, in which different levels of government are increasingly interpenetrated and in which boundaries between the EU and its member states are becoming eroded. The chapter begins with an analysis of the nature of EU policy activity, and this is followed by an examination of EU decision making, focused particularly around the question of who governs. Next, there is an analysis of the nature of the EU as a political system, with particular consideration given to the extent to which it displays the characteristics of a state on the one hand and features of new governance on the other. There is then an examination of an issue that concerns all political systems and which has become increasingly debated in EU circles – the nature of the EU’s legitimacy.
