The European Commission and the Integration of Europe: Images of Governance (Themes in European Governance) - Softcover

Hooghe, Liesbet

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521001439 ISBN 13: 9780521001434

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2002

Synopsis

What kind of European Union do top Commission officials want? Should the European Union be supranational or intergovernmental? Should it promote market-liberalism or regulated capitalism? Should the Commission be Europe's government or its civil service? This 2002 book examines top officials' preferences on these questions through analysis of unique data from 137 interviews. Understanding the forces that shape human preferences is the subject of intense debate. Hooghe demonstrates that the Commission has difficulty shaping its employees' preferences in the fluid multi-institutional context of the European Union. Top officials' preferences are better explained by experiences outside rather than inside the Commission: political party, country, and prior work leave deeper imprints than directorate-general or cabinet. Preferences are also influenced more by internalized values than by self-interested career calculation. Hooghe's findings are surprising, and will challenge a number of common assumptions about the workings and motives of the European Commission.

About this title

Product Description:

The European Commission and the Integration of Europe Based on interviews with 137 top Commission officials, this 2002 book challenges assumptions about the European Commission.

Review:

'Liesbet Hooghe's book is a significant contribution to both the literatures on European integration and comparative public administration. It is an extremely well-researched study of the inclinations exhibited by top officials of the European Commission. The Commission provides a challenging and fascinating research subject ... the book is both unique and interesting ... Hooghe's sophisticated study relies on the skilful use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques ... yields some very interesting results ... Hooghe's study is written engagingly. Her clever use of extracts from interview notes makes this book enjoyable to read. The extracts provide a meaningful sense of the context and lead to a more complete understanding of the 'world view' of officials ... this is an impressive book that deserves to be read both by EU specialists and those interested in the study of public administration in the European context.' Dionyssis G. Dimitrakopoulos, University of London

'... nicely and clearly presented ... rigorous ... Liesbet Hooghe has produced an excellent book on the preferences of top EC officials, with several great merits ... the empirical results contribute greatly to a better understanding of the EU's functioning. Finally, the straightforward structure and informative character makes the work extremely useful for teaching how to take on an empirical research project related to the EU: the introductory parts on preference formation and operationalisation of the research are very clearly written and reveal the rigorously elaborated design of Hooghe's research ... rich and testifies to great scholarship; the conclusions are enlightening ... an outstanding example of empirical research on European integration. Above all, it is highly recommended to scholars embarking on empirical challenges not only in EU studies but in comparative politics in general.' Journal of International Relations and Development

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0521001439
• ISBN 13: 9780521001434
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 292