Against the backdrop of a more differentiated European Union, this book discusses the relationship between differentiation and domination in the EU in relation to how it has been transformed through the financial and refugee crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and in general, a more volatile and less rule-bound global context. In doing so, it assesses to what extent these adaptations represent significant change, generating new problems and challenges, or on the other hand, providing an opportunity for new solutions or even signalling a new approach to governance that can mitigate problems associated with domination. Differentiation is discussed not only from a legal perspective, but with special attention to structural and institutional arrangements, which includes patterns of path dependence and built-in biases. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of public sector crisis management, international organisations, and EU politics and studies.

Against the backdrop of a more differentiated European Union, this book discusses the relationship between differentiation and domination in the EU in relation to how it has been transformed through the financial and refugee crises, the Covid-19 pandemic, Russian invasion of Ukraine and in general a more volatile and less rule-bound global context. In doing so, it aims to assess to what extent these adaptations represent a significant change, generating new problems and challenges, or on the other hand providing an opportunity for new solutions or even signalling a new approach to governance that can mitigate problems associated with domination. Differentiation is discussed not only from a legal perspective, but with special attention to structural and institutional arrangements, which includes patterns of path dependence and built-in biases. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of public sector crisis management. international organisations, and EU politics and studies.

This book discusses the causes and nature of political differentiation in Europe. It deals with the normative problem of differentiated integration, both in its vertical and horizontal dimensions, and addresses the problem of differentiation through a theory of democratic autonomy and dominance. A politically differentiated EU could deprive people of their right to co-determine common affairs and have adverse effects for democratic self-rule. It could also take away the people’s ability to influence political decisions that they are ultimately affected by. This book argues that differentiation is not an innocent instrument for handling conflicts in interconnected contexts. The consequences of what might be a benign plea for sovereignty and independence can in fact lead to the opposite.

The struggle for world leadership between China and the United States, resulting in Russia's war with Ukraine, among other things, underscores the reality of structural changes in the global economy and the global system. This book explains that a new era of egocentrism and polycrisis in a multipolar system has emerged in international economic policy, with a strong drive toward interventionism and protectionism of national economies. Dynamic economic imbalances are becoming a constant factor in disrupting international competitiveness and forcing changes in both monetary policy and general economic policy. This prompts a new, more pragmatic definition of fundamental concepts in the theoretical sphere as well as an up-to-date and viable cause-and-effect narrative that is not disconnected from decision-making processes in the economic and political spheres. This book provides a comprehensive diagnosis of the current global economy landscape and evaluates the processes affecting the economic and financial realities and the effectiveness of economic policies. The recent dynamics have rendered much of the existing literature outdated or confined to individual economies, economic systems, and regions. The book describes the evolution of international economic policy, offering a comparative analysis of foreign trade theories, especially in the context of macroeconomic trends and the impact of international trade in goods and services in the new balance of power of the global economy. Targeted primarily at academics, students, and researchers in economics, finance, international relations, and management, it will also serve as a valuable resource for policymakers shaping and implementing contemporary state economic policies.

When EU member states signed the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, they did not anticipate the manifold crises in store for them over the following years. Instead of the intended consolidation of a Union which had just gone through its most profound modernisation and biggest round of enlargements, the EU has since then had to weather a wide range of political, economic, social, legal, health and even military crises with major repercussions within and beyond its own territory. Indeed, this time of polycrisis has induced change on many levels: Across the continent and its many fora of European supra-, trans- and international collaboration, established institutions, rule systems and normative frameworks have been put into question and power balances have been shifting. Against this background, actors from social, political, economic and cultural life have sought new ways to overcome the manifold pressing problems of their time, be it through intensified collaboration or attempts to increasingly resolve issues at the national level. This volume offers a compilation of case studies on EU crisis responses, covering the most impactful of the various crises the EU has had to face in recent years. It provides theoretical and conceptual guidelines for the study of political actors’ responses to crisis at all levels of the EU multilevel governance system and beyond.

In this forward-thinking book, Rafał Riedel and Jakub Anusik explore the dynamics and determinants of one of the most salient issues facing contemporary Europe: differentiated integration. Going beyond static models of differentiated integration in Europe built on legal-institutional criteria, Riedel and Anusik capture the dynamism of the system by employing both a political economy perspective and the varieties of capitalism framework. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

Differentiated integration has become a durable feature of the European Union and is a major alternative for its future development and reform. This book provides a comprehensive conceptual, theoretical, and empirical analysis of differentiation in European integration. It explains differentiation in EU treaties and legislation in general and offers specific accounts of differentiation in the recent enlargements of the EU, the Eurozone crisis, the Brexit negotiations, and the integration of non-member states. Ever Looser Union? introduces differentiated integration as a legal instrument that European governments use regularly to overcome integration deadlock in EU treaty negotiations and legislation. Differentiated integration follows two main logics. Instrumental differentiation adjusts integration to the heterogeneity of economic preferences and capacities, particularly in the context of enlargement. By contrast, constitutional differentiation accommodates concerns about national self-determination. Whereas instrumental differentiation mainly affects poorer (new) member states, constitutional differentiation offers wealthier and nationally oriented member states opt-outs from the integration of core state powers. The book shows that differentiated integration has facilitated the integration of new policies, new members, and even non-members. It has been mainly 'multi-speed' and inclusive. Most differentiations end after a few years and do not discriminate against member states permanently. Yet differentiation is less suitable for reforming established policies, managing disintegration and fostering solidarity, and the path-dependency of core state power integration may lead to permanent divides in the Union.

Far from displaying a uniform pattern, European integration varies significantly across policy areas and individual countries. Why do some member states choose to opt out of specific EU policies? Why are some policies deeply integrated whereas others remain intergovernmental? In this updated second edition, the authors introduce the most important theoretical approaches to European integration and apply these to the trajectories of key EU policy areas. Arguing that no single theory offers a completely convincing explanation of integration and differentiation in the EU, this thought-provoking book provides a new synthesis of integration theory and an original way of thinking about what the EU is and how it works.

This handbook comprehensively explores the European Union’s institutional and policy responses to crises across policy domains and institutions – including the Euro crisis, Brexit, the Ukraine crisis, the refugee crisis, as well as the global health crisis resulting from COVID-19. It contributes to our understanding of how crisis affects institutional change and continuity, decision-making behavior and processes, and public policy-making. It offers a systematic discussion of how the existing repertoire of theories understand crisis and how well they capture times of unrest and events of disintegration. More generally, the handbook looks at how public organizations cope with crises, and thus probes how sustainable and resilient public organizations are in times of crisis and unrest.

A study of party competition in Europe since 2008 aids understanding of the recent, often dramatic, changes taking place in European politics.