Fritz W. Scharpf   Community and Autonomy Institutions, Policies and Legitimacy in Multilevel Europe   Publication Series of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Volume 68   Frankfurt a.M.: Campus, 2010 391 pages | ISBN 978-3-593-39188-5 | € 39,90 Order book directly from: www.campus.de

 

 

Abstract | Zusammenfassung | Contents | Author

 

 

Abstract

 
Since the mid-1980s, Fritz W. Scharpf's work has been concerned with the evolution of the multilevel European polity and its impact on the effectiveness and legitimacy of democratic government in Europe. This volume begins with the oft-cited essay arguing that Europe's problem solving capacity was constrained by a "joint decision trap." Subsequent analyses distinguish between effective policies promoting "negative integration" and the greater difficulties of "positive integration" which, in turn, correspond to the institutional conditions of "non-political" (judicial) and "political" (legislative) action at the European level. Drawing on these insights, the most recent contributions focus on the asymmetric impact of European law on the institutions and policy legacies of EU member states and on the implications of these asymmetries for the democratic legitimacy of governing at national and European levels.
 

 

Zusammenfassung

 
Seit Mitte der 1980er Jahre beobachtet Fritz W. Scharpf die Entwicklung der Effektivität und Legitimität europäischer Mehrebenenpolitik. Zu Beginn der hier versammelten Aufsätze steht die Vermutung, die "Politikverflechtungsfalle" beschränke generell die Problemlösungsfähigkeit europäischer Politik. Später betont Scharpf die Asymmetrie zwischen wirksamer "negativer" und schwacher "positiver Integration". Er benennt aber auch die Bereiche, in denen effektive europäische Politik erwartet werden kann oder ausgeschlossen scheint. Scharpfs Blick richtet sich auf die institutionellen Bedingungen, welche die Rechtsetzung und Politikgestaltung begünstigen und zugleich politisches Handeln auf der europäischen Ebene behindern. Nicht zuletzt betrachtet er die Rückwirkungen des EU-Rechts auf die Institutionen und Politiktraditionen der Mitgliedsstaaten.
 

 

Contents

 
Introduction: Community and Autonomy in the European Union (2010)
 
1  The Joint-decision Trap: Lessons from German Federalism and European Integration (1988)
 
2  Community and Autonomy: Multilevel Policy-making in the European Union (1994)
 
3  Negative and Positive Integration in the Political Economy of European Welfare States (1996)
 
4  The Problem-solving Capacity of Multilevel Governance (1997)
 
5  Interdependence and Democratic Legitimation (2000)
 
6  Democratic Legitimacy under Conditions of Regulatory Competition:
    Why Europe Differs from the United States (2001)
 
7  Notes Toward a Theory of Multilevel Governing in Europe (2001)
 
8  The European Social Model: Coping with the Challenges of Diversity (2002)
 
9  Legitimate Diversity: The New Challenge of European Integration (2003)
 
10  The Joint-decision Trap Revisited (2006)
 

 

 

Author

 
Fritz W. Scharpf is Director emeritus at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.