Transnational Parties and Advocacy in European Integration

by Karl Magnus Johansson, Tapio Raunio

Overview

This book analyses the role of Europarties in the deepening of integration and the debates on the future of Europe. It is guided by three fundamental research questions: What strategies do Europarties utilize to advance their visions of Europe? What is the relative influence of the actors in the networks of the Europarties? How successful have the Europarties been in shaping the future of Europe? European integration cannot be understood without accounting for the impact of the Europarties. Theoretically, the book utilizes the concepts of advocacy and agenda-setting, identifying Europarties as transnational partisan actors operating at intergovernmental and supranational levels of EU decision-making. Europarties have consolidated their organizational structures, and more importantly, have over the decades built their own networks and coalitions that enable them to wield influence in ways rarely captured by previous studies. Empirically, the book investigates the networks and positions of the Europarties, constitutional reform processes, and the role of the Europarties and their EP political groups in the broader debates on the future of Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031622847
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	07/17/2024
Edition description:	2024
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Karl Magnus Johansson was formerly Professor and is now Affiliate Professor of Political Science at Södertörn University in Skholm, Sweden. He was Senior Fellow at the Center for European Integration Studies at Bonn University and Part-time Professor at the European University Institute, Florence. His research interests include European integration and political parties.

Tapio Raunio is Professor of Political Science at Tampere University, Finland. His research focuses on representative democracy and political institutions, both in the context of national politics and at the European level, specifically on legislatures, executives, political parties, and foreign policy decision-making.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction: Europarties – ubiquitous yet rarely noticed.- Chapter 2: Reconciling theories of agenda setting, advocacy coalitions, and transnational political partisanship.- Chapter 3: Europarties: elucidating their organizational evolution and capacity.- Chapter 4: Europarties and the politics of Treaty reform: ascendance, capacity, locus.- Chapter 5: The Conference on the Future of Europe and political families: pushing for reform.- Chapter 6: Conclusions: transnational parties – elusive, but deserving more attention.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This ambitious book engages with fundamental issues in the study of EU politics and political parties. Karl Magnus Johansson’s and Tapio Raunio’s conception of transnational parties as advocacy coalitions lays the foundation for an original and insightful analysis. The book is also a reflection on the role of political parties in EU level democracy and more broadly in European integration.” (Anne Rasmussen, Professor of Political Science, King’s College London)

“Through the concepts of advocacy and agenda-setting and an analysis of the development of the organizational structures of the Europarties this book offers an answer to their role as effective structures of supranational representation. The innovative focusing on the networks and coalitions they establish allows solid conclusions and makes the book a necessary reading for those concerned with the democratization of the EU.” (Stefano Bartolini, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, European University Institute, Florence)

“Europarties, i.e., the transnational parties operating both at the intergovernmental and supranational levels of the EU, are ubiquitous, but poorly understood and often overlooked. This excellent book sheds new light on their behaviour, in particular their continuous advocacy and agenda-setting functions in the European policy-making process. A must-read for anybody interested in the inner workings of the EU!” (Thomas Risse, Senior Professor of International Relations, Freie Universität Berlin)