Reforming the European Union: Realizing the Impossible

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Reforming the European Union: Realizing the Impossible
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Daniel Finke
By (author) Thomas Koenig
By (author) Sven-Oliver Proksch
By (author) George Tsebelis
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:248
Dimensions(mm): Height 235,Width 152
ISBN/Barcode 9780691153933
ClassificationsDewey:341.2422
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations 34 line illus. 13 tables.

Publishing Details

Publisher Princeton University Press
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publication Date 29 July 2012
Publication Country United States

Description

For decades the European Union tried changing its institutions, but achieved only unsatisfying political compromises and modest, incremental treaty revisions. In late 2009, however, the EU was successfully reformed through the Treaty of Lisbon. Reforming the European Union examines how political leaders ratified this treaty against all odds and shows how this victory involved all stages of treaty reform negotiations--from the initial proposal to referendums in several European countries. The authors emphasize the strategic role of political leadership and domestic politics, and they use state-of-the-art methodology, applying a comprehensive data set for actors' reform preferences. They look at how political leaders reacted to apparent failures of the process by recreating or changing the rules of the game. While domestic actors played a significant role in the process, their influence over the outcome was limited as leaders ignored negative referendums and plowed ahead with intended reforms. The book's empirical analyses shed light on critical episodes: strategic agenda setting during the European Convention, the choice of ratification instrument, intergovernmental bargaining dynamics, and the reaction of the German Council presidency to the negative referendums in France, the Netherlands, and Ireland.

Author Biography

Daniel Finke is assistant professor of political science at the University of Heidelberg. Thomas Konig is professor of political science and director of the Research Centre for the Political Economy of Reforms at the University of Mannheim. Sven-Oliver Proksch is a research fellow at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research. George Tsebelis is the Anatol Rapoport Collegiate Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan.

Reviews

"This theoretically rich and empirically driven study by Finke, Konig, Proksch, and Tseblis continues the scholarly discussion on the institutional reforms within the EU."--Choice "This book is an achievement in terms of the application of formal models and the collection of new data."--Erik Jones, Survival