Overview

This edited collection addresses a paradox at the heart of the European Union: if it is a constantly enlarging empire of governance, how can almost thirty member states design policies as an administrative whole, whilst narrowly approaching all political issues from one economic point of view? The contributors to this collection approach this by studying knowledge production, policy formation and policy implementation in the union. The topics covered include the history of the union, its nature as an empire in the making compared to historical successors as well as current USA and China, formation of union level statistical data and policy documents, paradoxes of fiscal governance, social innovation policy, youth and education policy, energy policy and foreign policy with particular regard to Russia. The concluding chapter outlines five alternative future scenarios for the union extending from collapse and marginalization to the emergence of a federal empire. The book is essential reading for anybody interested in the EU, including students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including sociology, political science, international relations, economics, management studies, public and social policy, science and technology studies, and environmental policy. 

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9783319878867

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Reviews

The volume does offer interesting, novel and intellectually stimulating insights to governance in a wide range of policy areas. Moreover, the editors' empire perspective is thought-provoking, while many if not all of the chapters can be read as stand-alone texts, which makes the volume also an interesting source for scholars and practitioners interested only in particular policy areas. (Timo Weishaupt, European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, Vol. 6 (2), 2019)

Policy Design in the European Union - An Empire of Shopkeepers in the Making? offers a stimulating approach to analyse the EU as a supranational organisation, and its structures, processes, values and basic principles, differently. ... aims of each chapter are well defined, their methodological approach is always comprehensible and the language used is straightforward, which all result in a better understanding of the highly complex design of the EU and enable the reader to 'study the facts ... . (Peter Alsen, Acta Sociologica, Vol. 62 (3), 2019) The volume does offer interesting, novel and intellectually stimulating insights to governance in a wide range of policy areas. Moreover, the editors' empire perspective is thought-provoking, while many if not all of the chapters can be read as stand-alone texts, which makes the volume also an interesting source for scholars and practitioners interested only in particular policy areas. (Timo Weishaupt, European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, Vol. 6 (2), 2019)

“Policy Design in the European Union – An Empire of Shopkeepers in the Making? offers a stimulating approach to analyse the EU as a supranational organisation, and its structures, processes, values and basic principles, differently. … aims of each chapter are well defined, their methodological approach is always comprehensible and the language used is straightforward, which all result in a better understanding of the highly complex design of the EU and enable the reader to ‘study the facts … .” (Peter Alsen, Acta Sociologica, Vol. 62 (3), 2019) “The volume does offer interesting, novel and intellectually stimulating insights to governance in a wide range of policy areas. Moreover, the editors’ empire perspective is thought-provoking, while many if not all of the chapters can be read as stand-alone texts, which makes the volume also an interesting source for scholars and practitioners interested only in particular policy areas.” (Timo Weishaupt, European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, Vol. 6 (2), 2019)

Author Information

Risto Heiskala is Professor and Director of the Institute for Advanced Social Research at the University of Tampere, Finland. Jari Aro is University Researcher at the University of Tampere, Finland.    

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