The 1990 saw debates about the role of regions in European integration. The significance of regional tiers of government in EU politics has been boosted by changes in EU structural funding rules, the innovations of the Maastricht Treaty, and the growing importance of federal and regional government within member states. The effect has been to shift the balance of decision-making responsibility within the EU to a third (regional) level of government emerging in the EU policy process alongside the first (union) and second (member state) levels. As result, a system of multi-level governance can...

The 1990 saw debates about the role of regions in European integration. The significance of regional tiers of government in EU politics has been boosted by changes in EU structural funding rules, the innovations of the Maastricht Treaty, and the growing importance of federal and regional government within member states. The effect has been to shift the balance of decision-making responsibility within the EU to a third (regional) level of government emerging in the EU policy process alongside the first (union) and second (member state) levels. As result, a system of multi-level governance can...

The way Germany engages with the other states of the EU is often oversimplified and misunderstood. This book offers a nuanced analysis of the German role in the EU, using a novel approach which identifies German influence in the EU in terms of "soft" power. Rather than pursuing interests at the expense of other states, this book focuses on the creation of a "milieu" of multilateral cooperation in which Germany's diplomatic interests can flourish.

This book presents a comparative perspective on the new dynamics of electoral competition following devolution to Scotland and Wales. It brings together leading experts on elections, political parties and regional politics from Britain, Europe and North America to explore the dynamics and interactions of national and regional arenas of electoral competition. Chapters include theoretical reflections on the relationship between regional and national elections, and a range of country case studies. The aim of the non-British case studies is to establish both empirical benchmarks and a framework...

Understanding Germany's federal structure is crucial to understanding contemporary Germany. The federal system shaped the way German unification was carried out, it shapes the way which policies are made, and it plays a role in determining the way in which Germany presents its priorities in the European Union. This first part establishes the context by setting out and analyzing the character of pre-unification West German federalism and the challenge posed for the federal system by German unification. The second part takes stock of key issues in the operation of post-unification federalism,...

Explores the paths of development unfolding from the inter-dependent histories of postwar Germany and the European integration process. The contributors explore these histories within the idea of 'semi-sovereignty': a set of constraints on the German state's power within the external constraints of Germany's multilateral commitments.

Offering an confrontation of the uncritical choice of the 'nation-state' as a unit of analysis in postwar social science, this book utilises specially collected data from 14 regions across five European states to explores how citizens define and pursue collective goals at regional scale as well as at the scale of the 'nation-state'.