In this article, we analyse the development of new modes of governance in EU employment and social policy over the past two decades. In this field, a number of innovations can be observed. First, with the Maastricht Treaty, the right to draw up legislation was given to European social partners....

In the past, economic integration in Europe was largely compatible with the persistence of different national varieties of capitalism. While product market integration intensified competition, member states could build on and foster their respective comparative advantage. To date, this no longer...

At first glance, the social purpose and the democratic potential of the EU have made progress in the last 15 years. However, this impression is misleading. We argue instead that the social and democratic potentials of the EU are crucially shaped by the heterogeneity of European varieties of...

This paper looks at the introduction of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) to EU policy-making. This new mode of governance has been developed over the last decade and has received considerable attention in the literature. However, much of this writing fails to put the OMC into the broader...

Europe's 'political space', its dimensionality and its impact on European policies have received increased academic attention lately. Yet, one very basic element of this political space, the party composition of EU member states' governments, has never been studied in a systematic way in the...

In the past, economic integration in Europe was largely compatible with the persistence of different national varieties of capitalism. While product market integration intensified competition, member states could build on and foster their respective comparative advantage. To date, this no longer...

Dieser Aufsatz greift die in den Siebzigerjahren entwickelten Argumente zur Unregierbarkeit einerseits und zum Spätkapitalismus andererseits auf und befragt sie nach ihrer heutigen Relevanz. Beide Denkschulen erkannten eine Überforderung des Staats. Während linke Autoren die Ursache in den...

Mit den Vertragsänderungen des Amsterdamer Gipfels (1997) wurde die Beschäftigungspolitik offizieller Teil der Politik der EU. Mit ihr erhielten nicht nur europäische Institutionen Einfluss auf einen Politikbereich, der zuvor in nationaler Verantwortung lag, sondern mit der offenen Methode...

In a recent article, Caporaso and Tarrow have argued that the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is increasingly moving in a social policy direction that will ultimately put European politics on a 'Polanyian' course. We take issue with their claim and distinguish three...