Routledge Studies on Government and the European Union
About the Book Series
What is actually governed at the scale of the European Union (EU)? Some domains of societies and economies in Europe certainly seem to be, but the government of many others appears instead to take place at global, national or sub-national scales. The principal objective of this book series is to provide a sustained and structured space within which a cumulative set of books on what the EU actually governs would be published. These will depart from much of mainstream ‘EU studies’ to propose instead social science theory driven analyses that better reflect and reveal the transnational character of government in contemporary Europe.
This series of books will share a common focus and a commitment to detailed, theoretically driven but readable empirical studies. Although authors will differ slightly here, this focus postulates in general that:
- Far from being a system composed uniquely of ‘national’ and ‘supranational’ bodies, the government of the EU is enacted by all the public and private practitioners who participate in the construction and institutionalization of ‘European public problems’;
- This government is inscribed in a strongly fragmented European polity. However, its fragments –be they sectoral or territorial- seldom map neatly onto the frontiers of the member states;
- Integrating this government and polity constitutes a permanent challenge not only for the formulation of European public problems and their treatment (eg. for environmental protection), but also for the legitimation of these processes and the actors they involve (eg. Commission representatives).
The series is edited by Professor Andy Smith, Research Director at the at the National Foundation for Political Science, University of Bordeaux. All proposals for the series should be submitted either to the editor or the publishers.
The European Parliament and Global Health: Polymorphic Actorness and Multiple Roles
1st Edition
By Vincent Rollet
November 28, 2025
This book examines the actorness of the European Parliament (EP) and its roles in global health. In doing so, it appreciates to what extent this democratically elected entity can be considered as a global health actor. Applying an original analytical framework to measure actorness, the book ...
The European Union in Search of Narratives: Disenchanted Europe?
1st Edition
By François Foret
December 31, 2024
This book examines the legitimization of the European Union through the development and rapid rotation of narratives aiming to convey its identity and purpose. Utilizing literature and data across a wide range of interdisciplinary areas rarely studied together, the book argues that three narratives...
The EU's Government of Worker Mobility: An Interdisciplinary Discussion
1st Edition
Edited
By Hélène Michel, Mélanie Schmitt
October 09, 2024
This book brings together the expertise of economists, legal scholars, political scientists, and sociologists in order to integrate diverse perspectives and a broad range of analytical tools in the conceptualisation of labour mobility. It examines how variably the question of labour mobility has ...
EU Socio-Economic Governance in Central and Eastern Europe: The European Semester and National Employment Policies
1st Edition
By Mario Munta
May 31, 2023
This book investigates to what extent and how the European Semester impacts on national employment policy in four EU member states of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Using an original theoretical and methodological framework, and based on empirical evidence from extensive interviews...
Value Politics in the European Union: From Market to Culture and Back
1st Edition
Edited
By François Foret, Jana Vargovčíková
May 31, 2023
This book explores what drives value politics and the way in which it redraws political conflict at EU level. Based on case studies and analyses of statistical data, the book shows what the uses and roles of values have been at EU level over the past decades in both market-related policies and in ...
The Rise of EU Police Cooperation: Governing Differentiated Integration
1st Edition
By Franca König
December 30, 2022
This book provides an in-depth empirical analysis and theoretical history of the institutional development of EU police cooperation, with a focus on the creation and integration of Europol. Presenting a thoroughly comprehensive analysis, the book systematically traces integration dynamics and the ...
Governance and the European Social Dimension: Politics, Power and the Social Deficit in a Post-2010 EU
1st Edition
By Paul Copeland
September 30, 2021
Providing a comprehensive and authoritative analyses of the impact of the Eurozone crisis on the European social dimension since 2010 - understood as the European Union’s (EU) competence in employment and social policy - this book focusses on developments in five policy areas (employment,...
Decentring European Governance
1st Edition
Edited
By Mark Bevir, Ryan Phillips
September 30, 2020
Conforming neither to the hierarchical and bureaucratic organization of the European nation-state nor the anarchical structure of international organizations, the European Union (EU) and its predecessors provide an exemplary site for developing a decentred approach to the study of governance.The ...
Governing Sustainability in the EU: From Political Discourse to Policy Practices
1st Edition
By Ekaterina Domorenok
September 30, 2020
Governing Sustainability in the EU examines the recent novelties in the EU agenda for sustainable development, illustrating how the process of policy change has occurred at different levels, comprising general priorities, specific objectives and policy instruments. The book focuses on the evolution...
Subsidiarity and EU Multilevel Governance: Actors, Networks and Agendas
1st Edition
By Serafín Pazos-Vidal
September 30, 2020
This book examines the theory and praxis of the legal concept of subsidiarity and the policy paradigm of multilevel governance, providing an updated overview on how subnational and national authorities engage within the EU institutional framework. Providing a theoretical assessment of real-life ...
European Values: Challenges and Opportunities for EU Governance
1st Edition
Edited
By François Foret, Oriane Calligaro
August 14, 2020
Redefinitions of EU borders (enlargements, Brexit), geopolitical challenges (conflicts, migrations, terrorism, environmental risks) and the economic and financial crises have triggered debates on the common values that hold European countries and citizens together, justify public action and ensure ...
Governing Europe in a Globalizing World: Neoliberalism and its Alternatives following the 1973 Oil Crisis
1st Edition
By Laurent Warlouzet
March 28, 2019
The complex relationship between globalization and European integration was largely shaped in the 1970s. During this decade, globalization began, for the first time, to threaten Western European prosperity. Using an innovative approach, the book shows how western Europeans coped with the ...