222 research outputs found
The Blurred Boundaries and Multiple Effects of European Integration and Globalisation
No full textThis chapter presents analytical strategies for the study of European integration and Globalisation in concert. This is an increasingly important as well as a highly diverse field of inquiry. The chapter presents a series of research clusters in various ways concerned with the fundamental questions of how European integration contribute to, and are effected by, globalisation. By means of concrete research examples the chapter discusses the advantages of the research strategies and tools typically applied on the area and the challenges we face in this regard. This includes discussions of top-down and bottom-up research designs, process tracing, counterfactual analysis, comparative designs and comparative temporal analysis. The chapter gives special attention to the promotion of cross-fertilisation in this otherwise dispersed area of research and concludes by giving pointers to potential areas for mutual inspiration
Comparing 31 European Countries’ Responses to the Covid-19 Crisis
No full textBased on an author survey among the contributors to the preceding 31 country chapters, the conclusion summarises European governments’ responses to the pandemic by examining if variations in the handling of the pandemic reflect geographic South, East, North, and West cleavages. These cleavages largely correspond to different levels of affluence, economic distributional legacies, and democratic embeddedness highlighted as structural determinants of response patterns by the already substantial Covid-19 policy literature. Variations in the policy responses and dynamics of politicization are mapped and discussed. It is assessed which actors were empowered and disempowered in the policy process and if the mode of interaction between actors was altered compared to normal policymaking. Finally, the impacts on national political systems are appraised
Research Methods in European Union Studies
No full textResearch on the European Union over the past few years has been strongly implicated in the crises that currently grip Europe with a failure to ask the pertinent questions as well as a perceived weakness in the methods and evidence used by researchers providing the basis for these allegations. This volume moves the study of EU research strategies beyond the dichotomies of the past towards a new agenda for research on Europe through a rich diversity of problem-solving based research. This new agenda acknowledges the weaknesses of the past and moves beyond them towards greater openness and awareness of the importance of research strategies, designs and methods. The 20 chapters in this collection range from micro-level analyses of identities, single policy studies and European discourse, through meso-level analysis of agenda setting, bargaining, implementation and Europeanisation, to macro-level analyses of the EU as a global actor, European integration and globalisation as well as hard and soft governance, elections and party groups, attitude formation, and new-regionalism. As such, it provides a comprehensive and accessible guide to conducting research on the European Union today
Introducing the Eastern Grouping
No full textDespite their late transition to democracy and open markets and the significant socio-economic dislocations endured in the process, countries of the Eastern grouping mostly managed the initial wave of the pandemic well. In many cases, however, subsequent waves proved much harder to handle as rudimentary welfare regimes or populist leaders made sheltering households from the economic impact of the pandemic a priority. This fuelled premature reopening’s and inadequate restrictions in some countries. Comprising Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia and Estonia, several states of the Eastern grouping escaped further democratic backsliding thanks to politicization which served to keep executive aggrandizement in check. Yet, many of the countries still suffer from low trust in authorities reflected in modest vaccination rates
Denmark:Executive Power Concentration, Yet Still Consensus-Oriented
No full textDenmark’s handling of the corona pandemic from January 2020 to May 2021 can be seen as a success story for the consensus-based model in general and for the government's handling of the crisis specifically. Yet, the crisis has also highlighted problems in the decision-making process entailing a sidelining of parliament. To this effect, the government claimed to follow expert advice from relevant public authorities, which in some instances subsequently proved to be contrary to devised policies. Oppositional contestation of government action surfaced from the first re-opening of society and onwards with right- and left-wing parties disagreeing on pace and sequence. These differences were bridged through compromises reaffirming the durability of the consensus model. While the country has conformed to its neo-corporatist legacy, a minor deviation is detected in the lacking adherence to the flexicurity model as most aid packages targeting industry resemble similar central European schemes.Denmark’s handling of the corona pandemic from January 2020 to May 2021 can be seen as a success story for the consensus-based model in general and for the government's handling of the crisis specifically. Yet, the crisis has also highlighted problems in the decision-making process entailing a sidelining of parliament. To this effect, the government claimed to follow expert advice from relevant public authorities, which in some instances subsequently proved to be contrary to devised policies. Oppositional contestation of government action surfaced from the first re-opening of society and onwards with right- and left-wing parties disagreeing on pace and sequence. These differences were bridged through compromises reaffirming the durability of the consensus model. While the country has conformed to its neo-corporatist legacy, a minor deviation is detected in the lacking adherence to the flexicurity model as most aid packages targeting industry resemble similar central European schemes
Crossroads in European Union Studies
No full textOver the past two decades the educational practices within EU studies have been challenged by the lack of comprehensive texts on research strategy, design and method useful for study programmes. Since the ‘comparative turn’ of the 1990s, where we saw a shift towards applying theories, analytical frameworks and research methods known from the study of national political systems, EU studies programs have been faced with two choices when putting together curricula: either to downplay issues of research methodology in the curriculum, or to embark on the troublesome journey of putting together discrete readers of articles and papers from a limited and dispersed scholarly field. The actual practice of EU studies programmes has probably been somewhere in-between. That is, to give a lesser amount of attention to research strategy, design and method through the use of general textbooks combined with, at best, empirical examples derived from actual research projects in EU affairs. Yet, this otherwise pragmatic approach has become increasingly difficult. In this sense EU studies is at a crossroads of the meeting place between many disciplinary interests in Europe, as well as the point in time where the past weaknesses of methodology meet the future challenges of a new research agenda on Europe
Introducing the Western Grouping
No full textSeveral states in the Western grouping are affluent G7 members and some can claim to be ‘cradles of representative democracy’. Yet, it is also a diverse grouping reflected in very dissimilar welfare regimes, constitutional setups and legal traditions. But they all have well-endowed health systems with good access for the general public and moreover host a strong pharmaceutical industry. Three out of the four leading Western vaccines were accordingly developed in the grouping and vaccination rates have unsurprisingly been high. All countries in the grouping escaped permanent changes to their mode of governance and amply applied Treasurer in response to the crisis in comparable measure. Yet preferences for invoking authority by e.g., declaring a state of emergency clearly diverge as does the manner in which politicization and de-politicization has played out
Covid-19 Hit Europe:Patterns of Government Responses to the Pandemic
No full textThe Covid-19 pandemic erupting in 2020 represents the perfect storm for national political systems. The crisis that emerged in the wake of the pandemic is multifaceted in nature. It has fundamentally challenged political institutions, political processes and public policies. This chapter first outlines what governments respond to when responding to a crisis and how governments respond to crisis situations and review the emerging literature on government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. The second section discusses the three analytical dimensions highlighted by this book: (1) patterns of governance, (2) politicisation/depoliticisation and (3) government policy responses. The third section elaborates the unique compound comparative research design and mixed methods adopted by this book, while the final section outlines the structure of the book
Introducing the Southern Grouping
No full textItaly became Europe’s initial Covid-19 epicentre in early 2020. Alarming footage suggested that modestly endowed public hospital systems in financially stressed countries with fairly volatile political institutions could transform a worrying health crisis into a disaster. While the Southern grouping, which also comprise Spain, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Malta, have more elaborate welfare systems than in Eastern Europe, they trail most Western European states in their capacity for redistribution and delivery of universal health services. Historically their democratic institutions have exhibited some weaknesses and several of the countries have been trapped in a prolonged growth crisis. Yet when examining their policy responses, patterns of governance and dynamics of politicization during the pandemic, significant diversity can be observed but, in most instances, domestic political systems have survived the crisis without lasting damages and high vaccination rates suggest public distrust in authorities is less severe than feared
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