Europeanization and Multilevel Governance

Cohesion Policy in the European Union and Britain

Ian Bache

Europeanization has become a major theme within European studies in recent years, emphasizing the domestic effects of the EU on its member and applicant states. At the same time, multilevel governance has emerged as an important concept, highlighting shifts both in horizontal relations between state and society and in vertical links between actors at different territorial levels. In this state-of-the-art study, Ian Bache traces the relationship between these two key elements, considering the extent to which Europeanization advances multilevel governance within member states through the requirements of EU cohesion policy.

Bache focuses especially on Britain, a member state whose political system has been increasingly characterized by multilevel governance since it became an EU member. Comparing Britain's case to that of ten other member states, the author distinguishes between the EU's effects in simple polities—in which voice, influence, and power are diffused through multiple levels and modes of governance—and in compound polities, where voice, influence, and power are more concentrated.

Bringing together the conceptual tools of multilevel governance and policy networks and developing a framework for using these tools together in future research, this clearly written study will be valuable for scholars and students of EU and British politics.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 206 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7425-4133-7 • Paperback • October 2007 • $62.00 • (£48.00)

978-0-7425-7911-8 • eBook • October 2007 • $58.50 • (£45.00)

Series: Governance in Europe Series

Subjects: Political Science / World / European, Political Science / General, Political Science / Comparative Politics

Europeanization and Multilevel Governance

Cohesion Policy in the European Union and Britain

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Europeanization has become a major theme within European studies in recent years, emphasizing the domestic effects of the EU on its member and applicant states. At the same time, multilevel governance has emerged as an important concept, highlighting shifts both in horizontal relations between state and society and in vertical links between actors at different territorial levels. In this state-of-the-art study, Ian Bache traces the relationship between these two key elements, considering the extent to which Europeanization advances multilevel governance within member states through the requirements of EU cohesion policy.

Bache focuses especially on Britain, a member state whose political system has been increasingly characterized by multilevel governance since it became an EU member. Comparing Britain's case to that of ten other member states, the author distinguishes between the EU's effects in simple polities—in which voice, influence, and power are diffused through multiple levels and modes of governance—and in compound polities, where voice, influence, and power are more concentrated.

Bringing together the conceptual tools of multilevel governance and policy networks and developing a framework for using these tools together in future research, this clearly written study will be valuable for scholars and students of EU and British politics.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 206 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7425-4133-7 • Paperback • October 2007 • $62.00 • (£48.00)

978-0-7425-7911-8 • eBook • October 2007 • $58.50 • (£45.00)

Series: Governance in Europe Series

Subjects: Political Science / World / European, Political Science / General, Political Science / Comparative Politics

Author

Ian Bache is reader in politics at the University of Sheffield.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Europeanization: A Framework for Analysis
Chapter 2: Multilevel Governance and Policy Networks
Chapter 3: EU Cohesion Policy
Chapter 4: EU Cohesion Policy and Domestic Governance
Chapter 5: The Changing Nature of British Governance
Chapter 6: Cohesion Policy and Governance in Britain: 1989–1997
Chapter 7: Cohesion Policy and Governance in Britain: 1997–2006
Conclusions

Reviews

[Bache's] deep understanding and prolonged focus upon the British dimension of the phenomenon grants him a solid vantage point to qualitatively assess change. . . . Written concisely and accessibly.
— Choice Reviews

A strong volume that combines an elaborate theoretical framework with a careful empirical analysis. . . . This is a well-written study that will be of interest to scholars of both EU and British politics.
— West European Politics

The book delivers valuable, refined theoretical insight, applicable for policy analysis in other domains. The authoritative examination of key developments in policy, from the creation of ERDF in 1975, through the Thatcher, Major and Blair administrations, deepens our understanding of the broader, ongoing process of British institutional reform.
— Journal of Common Market Studies

Subtle yet concise. In-depth analysis . . . comparative framework. Rich empirical work cited.
— Political Studies Review

This book injects some welcome realism and clarity into the discussion, by providing through careful theoretical argument and empirical case studies an authoritative and detailed assessment of the process of Europeanization and its impact on multilevel governance in Britain and elsewhere. It will be an important reference point in all future debates on the nature of contemporary governance.
— Andrew Gamble, University of Cambridge

The empirical backbone of this conceptually thoughtful book consists of multiple case studies of EU cohesion policy's effect on Britain's polity. These are enriched by broad-ranging East-West comparisons. Ian Bache suggests provocatively that, perhaps, the most profound impact of EU-induced multilevel governance is on state preferences.
— Liesbet Hooghe, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill