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The European Union is widely credited for consolidating a democratic “security community” in Europe, and bringing about a definitive break with war-torn and authoritarian/totalitarian pasts in many European countries. Drawing on recent discussions in ontological security studies, this article points out that these radical breaks may have come at the expense of ontological insecurity at the societal and individual levels in Europe. While conventional teleological narratives often treat reconciliation and breaking with the past as automatic by-products of European integration, ontological security theory calls for greater attention to the societal tensions and anxieties triggered by these transformations and how they are being managed -more or less successfully - through reconciliation dynamics and memory politics in different societal settings. Illustrating the variation in a number of cases, this article claims that a systematic comparative analysis of the different dynamics of reconciliation and memory politics in different European societies is central to analyzing European integration from an ontological security perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life in the European Union (EU) has never been as safe as it is today. Nevertheless, EU citizens express widespread anxiety about new risks, such as internal and external migration, transnational crime and terrorism, economic and fiscal uncertainty. One actor which has profited from this development is the security industry. Across Europe there are now nearly as many private security guards employed as public police forces. This article draws on the concept of ontological security to understand the discrepancy between safety and anxiety which underpins the expansion of private security services in Europe. It argues that Private Security Companies (PSCs) are involved in the construction and provision of ontological security through three mechanisms: risk identification, risk profiling and risk management. These mechanisms not only offer physical security, they also reduce existential anxieties by contributing to stable self-identities through personalised risk profiles, commodified lifestyle choices and security routines. Nevertheless, the effects are not only positive. In addition to individualisation and the responsibilization of European citizens for their own physical and ontological security these mechanisms increase societal reliance on commercial expert systems, while reinforcing the perceived failure of the EU as a political and collective security community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ties between the US and the EU rival those between any other pair of international actors. This Special Issue makes conceptual progress and empirical contributions in accounting for if and how EU-US relations have been impacted by a context of multiple crises and a parallel change in US policies. All the articles find strong evidence to suggest that EU-US relations are weakening. This is partly a consequence of the EU’s own, internal policies, as it becomes more unified and autonomous of the US in some areas, while fragmenting in others. Most importantly, it is a consequence of the two actors’ increasingly diverging perspectives and positions on international issues, institutions, norms and indeed the value of the transatlantic relationship as such. Although the long-term effects remain to be seen, it is likely that the cracks in the foundation of transatlantic relations will continue into the present and foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since multiple crises are currently affecting Europe, interest on changes in intra-EU mobility patterns, policies and EU movers' strategies of integration has re-emerged in academic debates. What seems to still lack to date is a focus on the chaining actors linking the macro level of policies and the micro level of individual strategies, that is, civil servants who are in charge of implementing national policies in their daily encounters with EU citizens. Through an in-depth qualitative analysis of formal policies and daily practices in the field of healthcare for EU citizens in Piedmont, in the North of Italy, this contribution analyses how EU citizens' right to free movement and equal access to social protection is officially framed and concretely enacted within the boundaries of the Italian National Healthcare System and the role of health workers as de facto citizenship-makers. It suggests that, along with managerial orientations, different evaluations of the Italian economic and financial situation, and of EU citizens' root motivations behind their decisions to move across Europe play a crucial role in shaping health workers' assessments of EU citizens' deservingness of healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earlier scholarship assumed differentiated integration (DI) was pragmatic and temporary and that member states should and would converge on the same policies. By contrast, we contend that many instances of DI can be normatively justified on democratic grounds of fairness, impartiality and equity as suitable ways to accommodate economic, social and cultural heterogeneity. We distinguish between instrumental, constitutional and legislative differentiation and relate them respectively to problems of proportionality, partiality and difference. In so far as member states have unequal stakes in EU level collective decisions, reflecting their economic and social heterogeneity, or apply distinct constitutional norms to them, reflecting their cultural heterogeneity, then fairness and impartiality in decision-making justify respectively instrumental and constitutional DI, while the equity of regulations when applied to relevantly different agents and agencies warrant legislative forms of DI. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article argues that it is impossible to explain the series of existential crises confronting present-day Europe without reference to the changing nature of borders. Unbounding and rebounding prompted by transnational and technological pressures reconfigures the relationship between territory, authority, and rights in Europe. It produces new winners and losers. It changes the geography of power and makes European institutions look inadequate if not obsolete. The article tries to utilize recent studies in the field of geography, economics, and communication to understand the evolution of European integration. Four spatial models or architectural designs are envisaged: variable geometry, ordo-liberal empire, functional networks, and cascading pluralism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyses the political and media discourses on Roma in Hungary, Finland and the UK, in relation to the local Roma in these countries as well as those who migrated from Central and Eastern Europe countries following the fall of communism. The authors have analysed left of centre and right of centre major newspapers in these three countries, focusing on specific case studies which were the foci of public debates during the last two decades. We also examined a common case study in 2013 (“blond Maria”) that was discussed throughout Europe. In each news paper, the constructions of Roma, local and migrant, and the changes to related discourses over the period were studied. In conclusion, we examine the multi-layered processes of social and political borderings in Europe which dominate discourses on Roma, “indigenous” and migrant, and the extent to which they constitute a coherent “European” construction of “the Roma”. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Much of the migration literature neglects the questions of why and how “native” alliesobstructactivism by immigrants and ethnic minorities. Left-wing organizations in particular are often assumed to be supportive of inclusion, and little research exists on the ways they have prevented the migrant population from having a voice in the political arena and from taking part in society as equals. Drawing on the critical theory literature, I introduce the concept ofpolitical racialization. This concept refers to mechanisms whereby political actors, in order to legitimize their work on immigration, have partially included immigrants in the political sphere, but in a relationship of “ethnic” or “racial” subordination. Through the analysis of 57 in-depth interviews with immigrant activists, I show how political racialization works within the Italian Left and how it contributes to marginalize the migrant population. I further explain how immigrant activists have challenged political racialization through their activism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ireland’s inclusive political rights for migrants, together with a favourable naturalization process and accessible political parties, present favourable factors for political participation; however, migrant representation among elected representatives has remained very low. Examining the institutional context and group structures, this article explores the trajectory of migrant involvement in Irish political parties from the point of first engagement to becoming a representative in an effort to explain their under-representation in Irish political life. It is shown that neither political parties nor migrants have made a collective and sustained effort to increase migrant representation in local municipalities, which is a necessary pre-requisite for enhancing representation in the legislature. The article concludes that while opportunity structures provide some explanation towards migrant under-representation in Irish electoral politics, additional factors such as how political actors interact as a group with the institutional context are also important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of the democratic participation of immigrants has been the object of an extensive, theoretical and empirical literature. Nevertheless, we still lack detailed information on those internal dynamics of political parties which shape patterns of participation and representation of immigrants and their descendants, especially in Spain. We focus on how immigrants incorporate political parties in Spain and how this mode of incorporation influences the opportunities for immigrants to access elite positions and candidacies. On the one hand we examine individual trajectories in accessing and evolving in parties and, on the other hand, party strategies to reach out and include immigrants. We acknowledge a persisting gap between the access and participation in political parties, which has been facilitated over recent years, and the many obstacles in accessing elite and candidate positions in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following Brunsson’s [1989. The Organization of Hypocrisy: Talk, Decisions, and Actions in Organizations. Chichester: Wiley] neo-institutional approach to differentiate between talk, decision and action, this article analyses discourses on and related practices of diversity incorporation within political parties in Germany. In the light of demographic change political parties in Germany have begun to step up to immigrants and propagate diversity as potential. While still underrepresented as a whole, politicians with migration background are becoming more prominent and visible in leading positions. However, their roles appear manifold: They are expected to function as “bridge-builders” between the immigrant population and the supposed “majority”. Ethnicization takes place in various contexts. Discourses on diversity within parties are contradictory and reflect contested concepts of homogeneity and diversity. How do parties and their members negotiate these various discourses? Can parties actively open themselves to diversity, and how do they deal with the ensuing power struggles and issues of representation? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this collection is to discuss what we may learn from thinking about the EU in federal terms. Our point of departure is that this represents a two-fold challenge. It is on the one hand a matter of establishing ‘how federal’ the EU is (the EU’s federal challenge). On the other, the EU has federal features but is not a state; thus raises the question of whether federal theory and practice may have to be adapted to take proper account of the EU (the EU’s challenge to federalism). The contributions to this collection supplement and extend existing scholarship through focusing on two important lines of inquiry. The first focuses on the relationship between federalism and democracy, with particular emphasis on how federal systems respond to and deal with citizens’ interests and concerns, within and outside the political system. Particular emphasis is placed on representation, in the process of federalization, and as a feature of established systems. The second line of inquiry places the emphasis on the relationship among the governments of federal systems. The focus is on intergovernmental relations, and the particular merits that emanate from studying these from a federal perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We argue that there is a commonality between federal states and the EU: both face a dilemma between sub-unit autonomy and collective problem-solving. We develop the structure of this dilemma, which is pervasive in multilevel systems with a strong element of shared policy-making and most pronounced in the EU. While a substantial part of the federalism literature considers this relationship as precarious and discusses ways to stabilize it, we propose an analytical perspective which focuses on actor dynamics, i.e., on the attempts of sub-units to change the balance between sub-unit autonomy and collective problem-solving by changing their position in two distinct dimensions:exitandvoice.Exitmeasures the degree to which sub-units want to be subject to collective policies,voicemeasures the influence sub-units seek in collective decisions. We illustrate this framework with examples, mainly from the EU, and conclude that this perspective can shed new light on differentiated integration in the EU and open comparative inquiries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

European security is at a critical juncture and many have called for a more coherent and efficient response, involving both the EU and NATO. However, the primary tool for EU–NATO cooperation, “Berlin Plus”, has been stuck in a political quagmire since the mid-2000s, making a lot of scholars to conclude that this cooperation is obsolete and outdated. This article is challenging this view by analysing a range of informal but regular interaction patterns that have emerged. Using practice theory, it sheds new light on and explores how EU and NATO staff at all levels engage in informal practices on various sites in headquarters in Brussels and in field operations. A study of EU–NATO cooperation as practice focuses on the everyday, patterned production of security as well as what makes action possible, such as (tacit) practical knowledge and shared “background” knowledge (education, training, and experience). The article also discusses the extent to which shared repertoires of practice may evolve into loose communities of practice that cut across organisational and professional boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article evaluates the state of democracy in four East-Central European (ECE) countries ten years after their accession to the European Union (EU). Topics discussed include the state of democracy in the European Union member countries, the state of government and the degree of political dealignment in the member countries, and the anchors of democracy including economic development, organized interests, and perceptions of the EU.

Enjoying a surge of national pride, the German media celebrated the 2010 German World Cup team's success in South Africa. A dominant theme in this coverage was the 'immigration background' of 11 of the 23 players on the team and their claim to German identity despite their ethnic diversity. Amid debate over the changing nature of German citizenship, the national team's 'multicultural kickers' became the focal point for those who wished to reframe German identity. This article examines German newspaper and magazine coverage of the national soccer team emphasizing the role that media played in constructing competing definitions of the German citizen and nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appointment of the President of the European Commission in 2014 occurred in the context of a novel environment: in constitutional terms, the Lisbon Treaty had introduced a small but significant change, namely the requirement for the candidate proposed by the European Council to be elected by the European Parliament. Politically, the 2014 European elections took place against the background of the eurozone crisis which had polarised opinions about the direction of European integration across the member states. This article develops a framework to assess the impact of this changed environment along two crucial dimensions of EU politics – interinstitutional relations and party politics. Based on this analysis, the article argues that while there has been gradual change in certain respects, the impact of theSpitzenkandidatensystem did not lead to a transformation of the EU’s political system. Indeed, rather than creating new opportunities for party political competition, the cooperation between centre-right and centre-left in the election of the Commission President and subsequent decision-making further strengthened the long-standing ‘grand coalition’ in the European Parliament. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The eurozone crisis has altered the party political landscape across Europe. The most visible effect is the rise of challenger parties. The crisis not only caused economic hardship, but also placed considerable fiscal constraints upon a number of national governments. Many voters have reacted to this by turning their back on the traditional parties and opting instead for new, or reinvigorated, challenger parties that reject the mainstream consensus of austerity and European integration. This article argues that both sanctioning and selection mechanisms can help to explain this flight from the centre to challenger parties. First, voters who were economically adversely affected by the crisis punish mainstream parties both in government and in opposition by voting for challenger parties. Second, the choice of specific challenger party is shaped by preferences on three issues that directly flow from the euro crisis: EU integration, austerity and immigration. Analysing both aggregate-level and individual-level survey data from all 17 Western EU member states, this article finds strong support for both propositions and shows how the crisis has reshaped the nature of party competition in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article discusses changes in the discourse and practice of the EU external border. Findings of a small-scale research project looking at UNHCR’S Border Management and Protection of Refugees (BMPR) programme will discuss developments taking place at the EU external border and will show a new kind of narrative. Institutional cooperation, access to territory and compliance with the principle ofnon-refoulementseem to have improved. A more empathetic narrative of border security has found its way into institutions of enforcement authorities that primarily follow their mandate of protecting the state’s border and territory. This new narrative is, however, highly politicised and institutionally driven. By taking a more critical view, I introduce the concept ofhumane refoulementtowards the end of the article describing the consequences of this new narrative and denoting it as hypocritical in its nature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Biofuels are a growing alternative energy source. In a context of their growing global consumption, Brazil has shown particular interest in the European market. This paper analyses Brazilian foreign policy on biofuels towards the EU during Lula da Silva’s administration (2003–10). It examines the emergence of biofuels at a global level, the main guidelines of Brazilian foreign policy, Brazilian environmental foreign policy and, finally, the Brazilian political response to changes in European law. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, we examine how European authorities have responded to reported threats to aviation resulting from individual terrorist tactics. We do so by applying the notion of political resilience and drawing on Palonen's “policy, polity, politicking, and politicization” model as well as on Malcolm Anderson's concept of “politics of the latest outrage.” We argue that the European Union response to aviation terrorism has created polity transformation and generated a long list of new policies but has also in the process become politicized and subject of politicking, with some high-profile measures being criticized for having a deleterious impact on passengers' rights. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Health systems in Europe were hit by the economic crisis to various degrees. Evidence from worst affected countries shows detrimental consequences for health systems and health outcomes. EU member states face an increased risk of cross-border health threats given the growing difficulties to prevent and control infectious disease outbreaks with resources limited by cuts to public spending on health. Although health systems constitute a core national competence, the crisis has triggered the extension of EU economic surveillance over this field. The related debate focuses on the added value of EU action to support health systems in coping with the crisis challenges vs. the constraints imposed by stricter EU fiscal governance on national health policymakers. This paper provides an analysis of the changes triggered by the economic crisis. The analysis focuses on the EU level, exploring the changes in the output of EU institutions and their (possible) implications for health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While EU regional policy has the ambitious objective of supporting lagging regions and promoting inter-regional convergence, its impact is dependent on the ability of regional policymakers to secure and use EU funding to meet the region's needs. This paper aims to show under which conditions politics has a defining influence on the distribution, allocation and utilization of structural funds (SF), specifically in Objective 1 regions. The empirical analysis focuses on the 2000–2006 programming cycle in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The results show that regions politically aligned with national governing coalitions tend to perform better in terms of received SF support and enjoy more flexibility in implementing SF. However, the influence of regional political behaviours on economic performances is very limited. The findings confirm the importance of politics in influencing SF implementation, but its limited influence on economic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article investigates the bargaining strategy of the European Parliament (EP) as a co-legislator in the field of economic and financial governance on the basis of two prominent case studies – the legislative packages for financial supervision and economic governance. It analyses the impact the internal cohesion of the EP had on its bargaining strategy in informal trilogue negotiations with the Council and the Commission at first reading. The article argues that the degree of internal cohesion had a very limited impact on the EP's external bargaining strategy in the trilogues. This is visible both in the substance of the EP position – the issues the EP chose to promote – as well as in the form – the negotiation tactics. Thus, while the internal functioning of the EP is increasingly dominated by ideological and majoritarian features, externally the EP insists on promoting issues where a strong consensus exists to maximize its bargaining power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to explore the cross-border regionalisation by analysing the practices of the free dailies published in Luxembourg, a small and cosmopolitan EU state whose urban growth expands beyond its borders. The Luxembourgish free press, inspired by the famous20 MinutesandMetro,exists because of the purchase potential of readers employed in the Grand Duchy which is sold to advertisers. However, these readers/consumers/commuters can experience different sides of the cross-border urban areas, centred on the Luxembourgish economy (place of work, residence, shopping, etc.). Data collected from among a sample of readers of free dailies enable us to see that the new regionalisation can be an economic-driven process implying the porousness of some state borders and the rigidity of others, depending on the functional and emotional spaces of thehomo economicus. Media practices are based on a series of material and ideational practices of nomadic workers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This essay examines Russian argumentation on its visa-free regime with the EU within the context of discussions about modernisation. It examines arguments within the Russian foreign policy establishment about modernisation, Russia’s modernisation partnership with the EU and visa-free travel, and how these issues are linked. First, the essay outlines two models of Russian modernisation, comprehensive and selective. Then the Russia–EU modernisation partnership is examined focusing on Russia’s view of the nature of the partnership. Finally, the essay analyses Russian argumentation on visa-free regime and liberalisation. The essay concludes that in the Russian modernisation debate, be it comprehensive or selective, inclusion into the Western community is understood as an important prerequisite for modernisation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article I analyze how far right movements and parties in Europe are challenging European notions of open borders and the freedom of movement through active involvement in national and European politics. This involves a discussion around the de/rebordering of European space and the relationship between bordering processes and a politics of belonging in which the drawing of boundaries becomes a way of establishing inclusion/exclusion in response to a politics of fear, insecurity, and threat. Thereafter I address what distinguishes such a politics and how various far right movements and parties have emerged as structural and social–psychological responses to it as well as the reasons behind their affective (and electoral) success in Europe. In examining this, I stress the idea of ‘subjective deprivation’ in relation to the bordering of essentialist identities, highlighting the role of ‘emotional governance’ and ‘nativism’ as crucial for understanding the appeal of these movements. Finally I discuss how these bordering processes have come to rely on gendered notions of masculinity and on the occurrence of control and surveillance as members of the far right redefine national and European borders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper interrogates the structural conditions, macropolitics and governmentality of family ‘regroupement’ in France in an era of shifting immigration policies in Europe and the imaginative possibilities that Senegalese immigrants exercise to maintain family and kinship ties with those left behind. It argues that while the need to maintain ties from diasporic locations is mediated by policies, material and emotive transnational practices, the materiality of displacement as well as the state's politics of immigration render more elusive possibilities of maintaining family in situ. What tensions and creative strategies emerge? How is ‘home’, the primordial site of family structure, reimagined and reconstituted? Taking into account state's politics and immigrants’ entrapment within multiple spheres of power and their active agency as determinants, this paper uncovers how displacement gives rise to multiple ruptures while simultaneously motivating a search for active agency to reconstruct and reimagine kinship, family and conjugality across multiple temporalities and spatialities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

En France, émergent depuis quelques années des groupes de mères entrepreneures appelées « Mompreneurs ». Ce mouvement paraît réduit si on le circonscrit aux seules membres des réseaux estampillés, mais il semble révéler un fait social plus large généré par des femmes qui, une fois devenues mères, revisitent leur engagement dans le travail, et envers leur famille, par un entreprenariat individuel ancré dans la sphère dite féminine. En créant une activité non salariée, ces femmes découvrent un quotidien de travail qui les isole. Cet article examine plus particulièrement la manière dont elles réinvestissent un collectif à travers les réseaux de Mompreneurs pour sortir de leur isolement professionnel et maternel. En présentant les caractéristiques sociales des Mompreneurs et de leurs activités, nous montrerons d'abord dans quelle mesure devenir indépendante peut les conduire à un isolement jusqu'alors jamais éprouvé. Nous évoquerons dans un deuxième temps les apports du collectif pour combler cet isolement, qu'ils soient sociaux, identitaires ou professionnels. La dernière partie soulignera ainsi les ambivalences de ce collectif, en insistant d'une part sur sa portée politique limitée, mais aussi ses potentialités économiques, mettant ainsi en question le caractère réellement « indépendant » de leur statut d'indépendante. In France, groups of entrepreneurial mothers, also known as 'Mompreneurs', emerged during the 2000s. This phenomenon might seem minor if we only consider the 'official' networks; yet it reveals a wider social trend whereby some women, once they become mothers, reconsider their work–life balance through self-entrepreneurial ventures firmly anchored in the so-called female sphere. However, through the creation of an unwaged activity, these women tend to end up in an isolated work environment. This article focuses on the way they manage to re-integrate a group through the Mompreneurs networks in order to escape their professional and maternal isolation. By exploring the social characteristics of these Mompreneurs and of their activities, the author first shows how becoming self-employed can drive these women towards a new and unknown type of isolation. She then explores the role played by the group in alleviating their isolation, in terms of their socio-professional life and personal identity. The last section underlines the ambivalence of this network by insisting on its limited political impact but also on its financial potentials, hence questioning the 'independence' the women enjoy by being self-employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European crisis has many causes. Worse, the different causes are mutually reinforcing. National economies lost competitiveness within the single currency, governments and households lived beyond their means, banks and other financial firms moved capital across borders and then called it back home again in a fit of panic. Europe is suffering as a consequence. European policy-making is suffering as well. With so many ‘causes’, politicians are dividing their attention across different and at times competing remedies. Europe appears to be ‘muddling through’ rather than acting decisively as a result. This paper argues that European policymakers should focus their attention on financial causal mechanisms. Although there is some truth to claims about lost competitiveness and excessive borrowing, a close focus on financial markets promises to offer the greatest leverage over the largest number of national economies. A close focus on finance also offers a clear choice between competing policy agendas: Europe's politicians must choose either to accept a renationalization of finance or they must embrace reforms necessary to stabilize international financial market integration. Only once that choice is made, and the necessary policy agendas are put in place, should politicians again turn their focus to issues of second-order (if still significant) importance related to market structural reform, fiscal consolidation, or asset market regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is widely assumed to be a global environmental leader, especially in addressing climate change, though this reputation suffered greatly when European leaders were sidelined during the 2009 United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen. Subsequently, however, the EU has made significant progress in extending its Emission Trading System to the aviation sector, one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and did so not only regionally, but also managed to get it onto the global policy agenda. This contribution investigates the EU's role in shaping the 2013 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) resolution committing 191 government signatories to developing a global market-based measure to cap international aviation's carbon pollution. While not exactly setting new environmental standards or achieving definitive regulatory success, the case illustrates the agenda-setting capacity of the EU through leveraging its market power and adopting an explicitly extra-territorial rule to induce potential regulatory co-operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conceptualization of the European Union (EU) as market power Europe reflects an understanding that the EU most consequentially affects the international system by externalizing its internal market-related policies and regulatory measures. While considerable evidence exists to support such an exercise of power, further elaboration of the conceptualization reveals a number of ways in which it may contribute to the EU-as–a-power debates. This contribution undertakes a crucial stock-taking exercise for employing market power Europe as a dynamic conceptual framework for understanding and researching the EU as a power. The findings suggest that the conceptualization may improve analytical clarity and advance our empirical and theoretical understanding of the EU's external relations across various policy areas. These insights on the dynamic nature of the conceptualization as an analytical tool reveal important considerations for future scholarly work on the EU as a global regulator and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union's (EU's) regulations affect how business is conducted and consumers and the environment protected in parts of the world far beyond its borders. Moreover, the external impact of its regulations informs understandings of the EU as a global actor. This contribution makes three main arguments. First, the EU's regulatory influence varies systematically across different forms of regulatory interaction: regulatory competition and different forms of regulatory co-operation. The form of regulatory interaction, therefore, is a critical intervening variable between the EU's regulatory power resources and its influence. Second, within the different forms of regulatory co-operation the EU's influence varies in line with expectations derived from the literature. But, third, the magnitude of the EU's influence seems to be considerably less in regulatory co-operation than suggested by the literature on regulatory competition; a finding that reinforces the first argument. The contribution also introduces the rest of the special issue, identifying three overarching conclusions: the utility of the EU's regulatory power resources is context specific; debates about what kind of power the EU is, at least as previously conceived, are unproductive; and that the EU's engagement in the world is better explained through general theories of international political economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is widely regarded as a powerful actor in the establishment and maintenance of many global regulatory regimes. It actively engages in the promotion of labour standards beyond its borders, including through supporting the International Labour Organization (ILO). This contribution assesses EU influence in drafting one of the most important ILO standards in recent years: the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) (2006). Through analysis of official ILO records from the entire six-year period of negotiation and tracing the role of the EU during the negotiations of five vital parts of the convention (structure, simplified amendment procedure, inspection and enforcement, scope and social security), it challenges the view in the literature that the EU significantly influenced the final content of the convention. Delays in establishing a cohesive EU position, the strong tripartite ethos within the ILO and limitations imposed by rules-based standard setting are identified as the primary explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of European Union (EU) competences in the field of external security in the last decade has produced a substantial increase in the number of EU institutions and bureaucratic actors engaged in the planning and management of these policies. Moreover, the expansion of competences in such a sovereign sensitive area comes up against the persistent intergovernmental nature of the security sector. This has resulted, on the one hand, in a complex institutional architecture with heavy demands in terms of coordination, and on the other hand, in a stark differentiation and stratification of the legal regimes with a potential to impact on policy outcomes. This state of uncertainty is particularly relevant when looking at relations with countries bordering the Union, as the long-standing web of interactions there has developed a more complex institutional environment. While most of the scholarly literature focuses on single institutional sectors or policies (Common Security and Defence Policy, European Neighbourhood Policy, or the external side of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice), this study seeks to address the issue with a comprehensive analysis of the institutional framework that has emerged in the last decade, more notably, since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. The article provides, first, an overview of the EU’s institutional actors responsible for security policies in the regions bordering the EU, and second, an examination of the different mechanisms established to address the coordination issue. Finally, this study will argue that the traditional military dimension is but one, and certainly not the most developed, of the security instruments employed by the EU. At another level, it will be argued that the shift of focus from the military to other security tools has altered the institutional balance in the security sector, substantially adding to the relative influential weight of the Commission. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This contribution focuses on the European Parliament (EP) as an actor in European Union (EU) border policies. It situates the Parliament in the dynamics of the Schengen project and discusses the distinct role it plays therein, as well as its impact thereon. The article argues that the EP managed to establish itself, years before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, as a credible actor in border policies able to bring the citizens’ perspective into EU border policies. With its keen interest in the Schengen area as an area in which citizens can move freely without being subject to border controls, and with its focus on fundamental rights, it played, and continues to do so, a role in ensuring that “Schengen works”. The article presents its powers and the interplay with the other EU institutions, mainly on the basis of a number of key examples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Links between security and migration are well established and are associated with the meaning, status, and practice of borders in the international political system. This article assesses how and with what effects the effects of environmental and climate change have entered this relationship between migration and security. It does so by assessing the EU’s external governance of migration in “South Mediterranean Partner Countries” (SMPCs): Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia. It is argued that a focus on promoting “adaptation” and building “resilience” has developed that is consistent with the logic of governing migration from a distance. However, the article challenges ideas that environmental/climate change act as simple migration “triggers” and instead explores implications of movement towards and not away from risk, as well as the potential for populations to be trapped in areas that expose them to risk. It is shown that both have important implications for the relationship between migration, environmental/climate change, and security in SMPCs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyses the origins and development of the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) in order to better understand its functioning in view of its stated objectives. Particular attention will be devoted to the European Commission’s recurring claim that one of EUROSUR’s main goals is to save lives at sea. This contribution questions that assertion. It rather considers EUROSUR as representative of the steady, technocratic development of a European system for border management. The reliance on the exchange of information, the reinforcement of FRONTEX, the European Union’s agency for the coordination of operational cooperation between national border guards and the emphasis on cooperation with third countries support this claim. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyses the role of narratives in European Union (EU) external relations in the revised European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and systematically explores how they operate in practice in the context of the EU's border management practices vis-à-vis the “southern borderlands”, in particular with respect to their inclusionary and exclusionary potential. Key EU documents and statements by EU agents, released throughout the first three years of Arab uprisings and pertaining to the revised ENP, will be subjected to a thorough examination which highlights four observations: first, in spite of the fact that the revised ENP is rooted in several narratives, some nevertheless dominate over others; second, the simultaneous presence of and recourse to different narratives contribute to an increase, rather than a decrease, of uncertainty in the EU's southern borderlands; third, despite a multitude of narratives which serve to legitimize EU action in the framework of the revised ENP, the latter perpetuates the logics of its predecessor by generating benefits mainly for the EU itself; fourth, that the first three years of the revised ENP have in practice demonstrated that an imbalance exists between on the one hand the original acceptance of the narratives by EU stakeholders and on the other hand their willingness to abide by them and fill them with life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A multiplicity of legal and political arrangements regulate the European Union's external borders. With borders representing the intersection between national and international law and politics, the EU also acquired some legal competences in this realm. The resulting triple set of rules coincides with the growing disaggregation of the classical functions of borders. This state of affairs generates legal and procedural uncertainties and results in a growing ambiguity and lack of transparency, in terms of competences and accountability. Due to the EU's concerns with transnational terrorism, and the growing securitization of migration, the EU's borders with the states of the Middle East and North Africa are particularly relevant in this regard, with the resulting uncertainties touching upon fundamental rights. This article discusses the conceptual starting point of the growing institutional, legal, and political complexity at the EU's southern borders, together with relevant aspects and developments, thus also providing the background to the different contributions in this special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The European Union (EU) is usually described as a promoter of global environmental governance, committed to sustainability and the precautionary principle. Regarding international fisheries management, however, the EU has repeatedly deviated from these principles. This article analyses the EU's policy in two Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs): the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The EU's deviation from its environmental principles is explained by the weakness of the pro-environmental advocacy coalition in the EU's fisheries policy subsystem and the overcapacity of the EU's fleet, which first arose when European fishing nations were excluded from traditional fishing grounds during the creation of Exclusive Economic Zones in the 1970s. At the same time the article finds evidence of a trend towards sustainability and precaution in the EU's external fisheries policy since the mid-2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) has been conceptualized as a regulatory state, i.e., an emerging polity that differs from the classic Westphalian state. Unable to engage in redistribution and stabilization, the EU has specialized in a range of regulatory functions related to market creation and management of externalities. We argue that the European financial crisis is pushing the EU to move beyond regulation. We explore the origins of and responses to the crisis, and examine the ways in which the crisis is creating pressures for stabilization and fiscal policy. Indeed, we argue that significant inroads into these areas have already been made and further changes in the direction of stabilization and fiscal policy are likely, though whether such competences are centralized or decentralized is an open question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of the European Union's (EU's) administrative capacity could ultimately strengthen the influence of EU bodies at the expense of national governments. Recent scholarship has focused on the establishment of executive-administrative capacity beyond the European Commission, as in the form of EU agencies or networks. Previous research has identified interest constellations and existing transnational networks as important explanations, showing how the interests of national- and EU-level organizations have tended to group along a national–supranational axis. In 2009, the EU adopted a procedure for making binding EU legislation (network codes), delegating substantial tasks to a new EU energy agency (ACER), a new private European association (ENTSO-E) and to the Commission. Prior to the procedure's adoption, however, ‘intra-sectoral’ divisions overshadowed national–supranational divergence. Enquiring into the causes, this article finds that complementary use of perspectives can deepen our understanding of why and how the ‘European administrative space’ emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Population innumeracy (the tendency to overestimate immigrant or minority population sizes) has sparked scholarly interest. However, erroneous size estimates are not the only consequential misperception. There are also qualitative questions that are prone to error, such as the most common origin of immigrants. Using data from the Finnish National Election Survey, the current study provides the first detailed examination of misperceptions about the primary source of immigration. I consider both their extent and correlates. Results indicate that about one-fifth are incorrect, with most faultily identifying Somalia as the primary origin. These misperceptions are related significantly to media exposure and demographic factors, suggesting that they are more than random ignorance. Source misperceptions are strongly associated with perceptions of cultural threat from immigrants, suggesting potential consequences for faulty views. Overall, findings indicate that innumeracy research should expand to include misperceptions beyond size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Union Citizenship as currently implemented in the European Union introduces a distinct concept of citizenship that necessitates an adequate normative approach. The objective of this paper is to assess EU Citizenship against the theoretical background of multilateral democracy. This approach is specifically suited for this task, as it does not rely on a nation-state paradigm or the presumption of a further transformation into a federation or union. We propose three criteria by which to assess multilevel citizenship: equal individual rights, equal sovereignty of peoples and the balancing of individuals' and peoples' interests. We argue that the current practice of Union Citizenship does not fully meet the proposed standards, regarding equal rights within and equal access to, the political system. Based on our assessment, we propose reform options of access to national and supranational citizenship and argue for supranational participation rights and equal transnational rights to gradually re-establish full membership for individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cases of Romania and Greece show that the EU's increasingly strict exclusion policy for non-EU migrants is not in the best interests of the European Union. It can destabilize the very ideological and legal foundation on which the EU rests: the Lisbon Treaty. Cases like France, however, show that this is different for individual member states, pointing to a friction between the parts and the whole. It is suggested here that the EU tries to overcome this friction through the use of language, the digitalization of border surveillance, and border agencies like Frontex. All three erase migrants' visibility, reducing them to ghostly figures that are both present (digitally) and absent (physically). However, these ghosts cannot be excluded, and thus resist the impenetrability of the walls of Fortress Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Impact of Extreme Right Parties makes a welcome contribution to the growing scholarship that assesses the impacts of extreme right parties (ERPs) on inter-party competition, public opinion and public policy. Although it commendably avoids the pitfall of overestimating the political significance of ERPs, several criticisms of the book nevertheless can be raised. First, it is disquieting that its analysis of the impacts of ERPs within its chosen three countries covers less than a decade. Second, the reader may come away questioning its ultimate contribution to our understanding of the staying power of ERPs. Third, it is reasonable to ask if in investigating the impacts of ERPs on inter-party competition and public opinion the book is simply accumulating evidence for the much more important question of their impact on public policy. Finally, it is unfortunate that the possible effects of ERPs on partisan and party system dealignment are not considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on the relations between xenophobic parties and immigration policy in Italy. It argues that the salience of the Northern League (Lega Nord), the instability of the Italian party system and the recent transformation of Italy from an emigration country to an immigration country all contribute to Italy's difficulty in achieving a coherent immigration policy. Since the first comprehensive immigration policy emerged in 1998 with the Turco-Napolitano law, there have been six changes of government, with frequent oscillation between centre-right and centre-left coalitions. While the effects of these oscillations, particularly of the centre-right's effort to restrict immigrants’ rights and entry possibilities, have been dampened by the Italian courts and the European Union, it is still problematic to speak of an Italian model. Drawing on Carvalho's book, this article will address the effects of the Lega on creating and maintaining this policy imbalance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

How migration and mobilizations of difference are accommodated at the local level is a burning question. Concepts adopted by local governments and the capacities of cities to formulate and implement these have received increasing attention, but often without examining the ideas and norms that underlie local concepts and practices. This article assesses the hypothesis of local-level pragmatism, which it rejects, and develops the notion of ‘paradigmatic pragmatism’ to characterize how local-level politics address mobilizations of difference. Based on empirical findings from Amsterdam, Antwerp and Leeds, and comparing the content and the implementation of ‘diversity policies’, I argue against a dichotomy of pragmatic vs ideational politics. Instead, these cities draw on a variety of ideas and pragmatically combine them under the header of diversity. This paradigmatic pragmatism invites further research on the effects of potential incompatibilities of immigrant policy ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the dynamics through which the migrant field in Ireland is governed, and, through analysing NGO contention over the Immigration, Residence and Protection (IRP) Bill, explores the role they play in the field. The article argues that NGOs both influence and are institutionally channelled by state discourse surrounding migrants. The IRP Bill was designed to regulate non-EU citizens in Ireland, and codified the discretionary powers of the Irish state over migrants. While NGOs offered an influential critique of this process, in doing so they reproduced the dominant representation of migrants in Ireland as problems to be separated out and managed by elite experts. In explaining why this was so, I draw on Bourdieu's argument that those within a field of practice articulate their identities and goals through the dominant language of that field. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]