This book deals with ongoing processes of European cooperation and integration, processes that may have a potential to change the political organization of Europe. Based on ideas from 'the new institutionalism' the book offers a systematic perspective on institutional change and in particular the role of institutions in relation to four central and durable issues in the study of political life.

The Europeanisation of National Administrations analyzes the impact of European policies on national bureaucracies. Knill's study is a comparative assessment of the factors influencing administrative adjustment to European policy demands in the member states, and contains a detailed account of the administrative impact of European Union environmental policy in Britain and Germany. This book will interest students and scholars of European studies, comparative politics, environmental politics, public administration and organizational studies.

It is often assumed that the European Commission is a unitary actor, with a shared set of values. Liesbet Hooghe's book questions this assumption through interviews with over one hundred officials on central issues in the governance of Europe. She finds that officials in fact have diverse views, are not "socialized" during their time at the Commission, and that contention over key issues within the Commission echoes debates among Europe's wider public. The Commission is not, she argues, a determinedly pro-integrationist organization with closer union as its aim.

Frank Schimmelfennig analyzes the Eastern enlargement of the European Union and NATO and develops a theoretical approach of "rhetorical action" to explain why it occurred. Backed by original data, and drawing on sociological institutional theory, he demonstrates that the expansion to the East can be best understood in terms of liberal democratic values and norms. He highlights the practice of the Western community in shaming opponents into agreeing to enlargement.

Gallya Lahav's study examines the issue of immigration in the context of a Europe where the role of the nation state is in question, as the logic of the single market clashes with national policymaking. Immigration is a central issue in European politics since around a quarter of the world's migrants reside in Europe. Consequently, politicians throughout the continent are grappling with the problems this raises. Analyzing elite and public opinion, Lahav's book shows how support from both has led to the adoption of restrictive immigration policies despite the requirements of open borders.

Emergence of a common security and foreign policy has been one of the most contentious issues accompanying the integration of the European Union. With extensive empirical evidence drawn from interviews, case studies, official documents and secondary sources, Michael Smith examines the specific ways foreign policy cooperation has been institutionalized in the EU. This analysis will appeal to scholars and researchers in international relations, law, foreign policy and European studies.

Europe has experienced the most radical reallocation of authority that has ever taken place in peacetime over the past half-century. However, the ideological conflicts emerging from this development are only now becoming apparent. This collection brings together an authoritative group of scholars of European and comparative politics to investigate patterns of conflict arising in the European Union. The contributors to the volume conclude that political contestation concerning European integration is rooted in the basic conflicts that have shaped political life in Western Europe for many...

Frank Schimmelfennig analyzes the Eastern enlargement of the European Union and NATO and develops a theoretical approach of "rhetorical action" to explain why it occurred. Backed by original data, and drawing on sociological institutional theory, he demonstrates that the expansion to the East can be best understood in terms of liberal democratic values and norms. He highlights the practice of the Western community in shaming opponents into agreeing to enlargement.

Gallya Lahav's study examines the issue of immigration in the context of a Europe where the role of the nation state is in question, as the logic of the single market clashes with national policymaking. Immigration is a central issue in European politics since around a quarter of the world's migrants reside in Europe. Consequently, politicians throughout the continent are grappling with the problems this raises. Analyzing elite and public opinion, Lahav's book shows how support from both has led to the adoption of restrictive immigration policies despite the requirements of open borders.

Emergence of a common security and foreign policy has been one of the most contentious issues accompanying the integration of the European Union. With extensive empirical evidence drawn from interviews, case studies, official documents and secondary sources, Michael Smith examines the specific ways foreign policy cooperation has been institutionalized in the EU. This analysis will appeal to scholars and researchers in international relations, law, foreign policy and European studies.