This short introductory text de-mystifies the European Union's structures and operation. Blending scholarly expertise and practitioners' experience, the authors introduce and analyse the EU's key actors, processes and developments. Amongst the book's distinctive features are exhibits contrasting how the EU appears on paper (its treaties and formal rules) with how it works in practice. The book also features exhibits comparing the EU with other international bodies and systems of government. This will help students to better understand the EU by underlining how it is like other systems of governance and in what ways it is unique. The book's overall aim is to provide an accessible, lively introduction to how the EU works and why it matters.
Contents:
Part I
Background
1. Introduction , Elizabeth Bomberg and Alexander Stubb
2. How Did We Get Here? , Desmond Dinan
Part II
Major Actors
3. The EU's Institutions , Elizabeth Bomberg, Laura Cram and David Martin
4. Member States , Brigid Laffan and Alexander Stubb
5. Organized Interests and Lobbying in the EU , Rory Watson and Michael Shackleton
Part III
Policies and Policy-Making
6. Key Policies , Alberta Sbragia
7. The Policy-Making Process , Alexander Stubb, Helen Wallace and John Peterson
8. Governance and Legitimacy , Lynn Dobson and Albert Weale
Part IV
Current Issues and Trends
9. Enlargement - And Then There Were 28? , Lykke Friis
10. The EU as a Global Actor , John Peterson and Michael E. Smith
11. Conclusion , John Peterson, Elizabeth Bomberg and Alexander Stubb
