The European Commission as network broker

Authors

  • Susana Borrás

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24965/gapp.v0i1.411

Keywords:

European Commission, policy networks, codecision procedure, open method of coordination, European Employment Strategy, genetically modified organisms, interest intermediation

Abstract

Recent transformations in the European Union have been putting significant pressure on the management function of the European Commission. Examining its brokerage position in policy networks, this article asks what kind of role does the Commission have in the political interactions in Brussels after the year 2000. Developing a conceptual framework about brokerage roles in EU policy, the article uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative data in an empirical analysis of two extreme cases where the Commission has been embattled the past years. The article argues that previous reports of the Commission’s demise are much exaggerated, because it continues playing a leading role in managing interaction between multiple actors at different levels of governance. The empirical results show that the Commission is a resilient central network broker.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Susana Borrás

Politóloga. Doctora por el Instituto Europeo de Florencia y Catedrática del International Center for Business and Politics de la Copenhagen Business School (Dinamarca). Sus líneas de investigación se centran en gobernanza europea y gobernanza de la ciencia y la innovación. En estas materias ha publicado artículos en las revistas West European Politics, Journal of European Integration, Technological Forecasting and Social Change y Journal of European Public Policy. Es editora para Europa de la revista Science and Public Policy.

References

Ansell, C., Parsons C. y Darden K. (1997), “Dual networks in European Regional Development Policy”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 35 (3): 347-75.

Borrás, S. y Jacobsson K. (2004), “The Open Method of Coordination and the New Governance Patterns in the EU”, Journal of European Public Policy, 11 (2): 185-208.

Borrás, S. y Olsen, H.P. (2006), “Combining Qualitative Methods with Quantitative Social Network Analysis: Promise, Problems, Pay-offs and Potentials” En P. Bogason, y M. Zølner, eds., Analysing Democratic Network Governance: Methodological Issues. Londres: Palgrave-Macmillan.

Burns, C. (2004), “Codecision and the European Commission: A study of declining influence?”, Journal of European Public Policy, 11 (1): 1-18.

Börzel, T. (1998), “Organizing Babylon – On the Different Conceptions of Policy Networks” Public Administration, 76 (2): 253-73.

Calonge Velásquez, A. (2004), “Gobernanza Europea: El papel de las instituciones y la centralidad de la Comisión” Circunstancia 3, http://www.ortegaygasset.edu/contenidos.asp?id_d=378 (Consulta: Noviembre 2008).

Christiansen, T. (2001), “The European Commission: Administration in Turbulent Times”, en J. Richardson, ed., European Union. Power and Policy-Making. Londres: Routledge.

Cram, L. (1997), Policy-Making in the EU. Londres: Routledge.

Dimitrakopoulos, D.G. (2004), “Introduction” in D.G. Dimitrakopoulos ed., The Changing European Commission. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Garret, G. (1992), “International cooperation and institutional choice: The EC’s Internal Market”, International Organization, 46: 533-60.

Goetschy, J. (2003), “The European Employment Strategy, Multi-level governance and Policy Coordination: Past, Present and Future”, en J. Zeitlin y D.M. Trubek, eds., Governing Work and Welfare in a New Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gould, R. y Fernandez R. (1989), “Structures of Mediation: A Formal Approach to Brokerage in Transaction Networks”, Sociological Methodology, 19: 89-126.

Judge, D. y Earnshaw D. (2002), “The European Parliament and the Commission Crisis: A New Assertiveness?”, Governance, 15 (3): 345-74.

Kassim, H. y Menon A. (2004), “European integration since the 1990s: Member States and the European Commission”, ARENA working paper 6/04.

Laffan, B. (1997), “From policy entrepreneur to policy manager: the challenge facing the European Commission” Journal of European Public Policy, 4 (3): 422-438.

Marks, G., Hooghe L. y Blank K. (1997), “European Integration from the 1980s: State-Centric vs. Multi-level Governance”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 32 (3): 341-78.

Matlary, J. (2000), “The Role of the Commission: A Theoretical Discussion” en N. Nugent, ed., At the Heart of the Union. Londres: Macmillan.

Majone, G. (2002), “The European Commission: The Limits of Centralization and the Perils of Parliamentarization”, Governance, 15 (3): 375-92.

Metcalfe, L (1996), “The European Commission as a Network Organization”, Publius, 26 (4): 43-62.

Metcalfe, L. (2000), “Reforming the Commission: Will Organizational Efficiency Produce Effective Governance?”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 38 (5): 817-41.

Moravcsik, A. (1999), “A New Statecraft? Supranational Entrepreneurs and International Cooperation”, International Organization, 53 (2): 267-306.

Nugent, N. (2000), “Themes and Prospects”, in N. Nugent, ed., At the Heart of the Union. Londres: Macmillan.

Peterson, J. (1991), “Technology Policy in Europe: Explaining the Framework Programme and Eureka in Theory and Practice”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 29 (1): 269-90.

Peterson, J. (2004), “Policy networks”, en A. Wiener and T. Diez, eds., European Integration Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pierson, P. (1998), “The Path to European Integration: A Historical-institutionalist Analysis”, en W. Sandholdtz, y A. Stone Sweet, eds., European Integration and Supranational Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pollack, M.A. (1997), “Delegation, Agency and Agenda Setting in the European Community”, International Organization, 51 (1): 99-134.

Pollack, M. A. y G.C. Shaffer (2005), “Biotechnology Policy. Between National Fears and Global Disciplines”, en H. Wallace, W. Wallace y M. A. Pollack, eds., Policy-Making in the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Pollitt, C. y Bouckaert G. (2004), Public Management Reform. A Comparative Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rhodes, R.A.W (1990), “Policy Networks: A British Perspective”, Journal of Theoretical Politics, 2 (2): 293-317.

Schmidt, S.K. (2004), “The European Commission’s Powers in Shaping European Policies”, en D. Dimitrakopoulos, ed., The Changing European Commission. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Skogstad, G. (2003), “Legitimacy and/or policy effectiveness? Network governance and GMO regulation in the European Union”, Journal of European Public Policy, 10 (3): 321-38.

Talleberg, J. (2002), “Paths to Compliance: Enforcement, Management, and the European Union”, International Organization, 56: 609-643.

Wincott, D. (2001), “Looking Forward or Harking Back? The Commission and the Reform of Governance in the European Union”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 39 (5): 897-911.

Zeitlin, J. and P. Pochet (eds.) (2005), The open method of co-ordination in action: The European employment and social inclusion strategies. Nueva York: P.I.E.-Peter Lang.

Published

01-06-2009

How to Cite

Borrás, S. (2009). The European Commission as network broker. Gestión Y Análisis De Políticas Públicas, (1), 17–42. https://doi.org/10.24965/gapp.v0i1.411