The Political System of the European Union, 2nd Edition (The European Union Series)

This would make a great text for an upper division class on the EU or on comparative legislative politics. I am very impressed with its theoretical sophistication with the inclusion of simple spatial models that make its content comparable with a book such as Krehbiel's \_Pivotal Politics\_. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 List of Tables and Figures......Page 15 Preface to the Second Edition......Page 18 Preface to the First Edition......Page 19 List of Abbreviations......Page 22 1 Introduction: Explaining the EU Political System......Page 24 The EU: a Political System but not a State......Page 25 How the EU Political System Works......Page 28 Actors, Institutions and Outcomes: the Basics of Modern Political Science......Page 32 Theories of European Integration and EU Politics......Page 37 Allocation of Policy Competences in the EU: a ‘Constitutional Settlement’......Page 41 Structure of the Book......Page 46 PART I: GOVERNMENT......Page 48 Theories of Executive Power, Delegation and Discretion......Page 50 Government by the Council and the Member States......Page 54 Government by the Commission......Page 63 Comitology: Interface of the EU Dual Executive......Page 75 Democratic Control of the EU Executive......Page 82 Explaining the Organization of Executive Power in the EU......Page 88 Conclusion: the Politics of a Dual Executive......Page 92 Theories of Legislative Coalitions and Organization......Page 95 Development of the Legislative System of the EU......Page 99 Legislative Politics in the Council......Page 102 Legislative Politics in the European Parliament......Page 112 Legislative Bargaining between the Council and the EP......Page 122 Conclusion: Complex but Familiar Politics......Page 132 Political Theories of Constitutions and Courts......Page 134 The EU Legal System and the European Court of Justice......Page 138 Constitutionalization of the European Union......Page 144 Penetration of EU Law into National Legal Systems......Page 151 Explanations of EU Judicial Politics......Page 157 Conclusion: Unknown Destination or Emerging Equilibrium?......Page 165 PART II: POLITICS......Page 168 Theories of the Social Bases of Politics......Page 170 Public Support for the European Union: End of the Permissive Consensus......Page 172 More or Less Integration: Europe Right or Wrong?......Page 174 What the EU Should Do: Europe Right or Left?......Page 189 The Electoral Connection: Putting the Two Dimensions Together......Page 193 Conclusion: the EU as a Plural Society......Page 196 Democracy: Choosing Parties, Leaders and Policies......Page 198 The ‘Democratic Deficit’ Debate......Page 200 Parties: Competition and Organization......Page 203 Elections: EP Elections and EU Referendums......Page 215 Towards a More Democratic EU?......Page 225 Conclusion: Towards Democratic EU Government?......Page 229 Theories of Interest Group Politics......Page 231 Lobbying Europe: Interest Groups and EU Policy-Making......Page 234 National Interests and the Consociational Cartel......Page 246 Explaining the Pattern of Interest Representation......Page 248 Conclusion: a Mix of Representational Styles......Page 253 PART III: POLICY-MAKING......Page 256 Theories of Regulation......Page 258 Deregulation via Negative Integration: the Single Market and Competition Policies......Page 262 Reregulation via Positive Integration: Environmental and Social Policies......Page 274 Explaining EU Regulatory Policies......Page 284 Conclusion: Neoliberalism Meets the Social Market......Page 292 Theories of Public Expenditure and Redistribution......Page 294 The Budget of the European Union......Page 298 The Common Agricultural Policy......Page 304 Cohesion Policy......Page 312 Other internal policies......Page 318 Explaining EU Expenditure Policies......Page 323 Conclusion: a Set of Linked Welfare Bargains......Page 330 The Political Economy of Monetary Union......Page 332 Development of Economic and Monetary Union in Europe......Page 336 Explaining Economic and Monetary Union......Page 343 Monetary and Economic Policy in EMU......Page 351 Conclusion: the Need for Policy Coordination......Page 365 Theories of Citizenship and the State......Page 367 EU Freedom and Security Policies......Page 369 Explaining EU Freedom and Security Policies......Page 382 Conclusion: Skeleton of a Pan-European State......Page 395 Theories of International Relations and Political Economy......Page 397 External Economic Policies: Free Trade, Not ‘Fortress Europe’......Page 401 External Political Relations: Towards an EU Foreign Policy......Page 410 Explaining the Foreign Policies of the EU......Page 418 Conclusion: a ‘Soft Superpower’?......Page 427 What Political Science Teaches Us About the EU......Page 429 What the EU Teaches Us About Political Science......Page 435 Appendix: Decision-Making Procedures in the European Union......Page 438 Bibliography......Page 445 B......Page 498 C......Page 499 E......Page 501 G......Page 504 I......Page 505 L......Page 506 M......Page 507 P......Page 508 R......Page 509 S......Page 510 U......Page 511 Z......Page 512

Hix (European and comparative politics, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK) presents an introduction to the political system of the European Union. Assessing a variety of explanatory theoretical models, he describes the organization and operation of executive, legislative, and judicial governance. He then offers separate chapters analyzing the influence of public opinion, parties and elections, and interest representation on EU politics. Finally, he looks at the formation of policy in the areas of market regulation, expenditures, economic and monetary union, citizen freedom and security policies, and foreign policy. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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Hix (London School of Economics and Political Science) provides an overview of the workings of the European Union that draws on the general theories and methods of political science. For each of the main processes in the EU political systemexecutive, legislative and judicial politics, public opinion, interest groups and parties, and regulatory, redistributive, monetary, internal security and global policieshe introduces the key political science tools, reviews recent theoretical research, and applies this knowledge in descriptive analysis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The Eu Is Presented In This Textbook As An Emerging Political System, In Which The Government, Policies And The Politics Of The System Are Inextricably Linked. 1. Introduction : Explaining The Eu Political System -- Pt. I. Government -- 2. Executive Politics -- 3. Legislative Politics -- 4. Judicial Politics -- Pt. Ii. Politics -- 5. Public Opinion -- 6. Democracy, Parties And Elections -- 7. Interest Representation -- Pt. Iii. Policy-making -- 8. Regulation Of The Single Market -- 9. Expenditure Policies -- 10. Economic And Monetary Union -- 11. Citizen Freedom And Security Policies -- 12. Foreign Policies -- 13. Conclusion : Rethinking The European Union -- App. Decision-making Procedures In The European Union. Simon Hix. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 422-474) And Index. Systematically revised and rewritten throughout and updated to cover the impact of EU enlargement, this text analyzes the EU as a political system using the methods of comparative political science