Strategic Responses to Domestic Contestation: The EU Between Politicisation and Depoliticisation

EU-level actors have responded to the increase in salience and contestation across member states by depoliticizing and politicizing decision-making, behavior, and policy outcomes. Domestic pressure triggers these responses, ranging from constrained to assertive, driven by the survival of the Union, preservation of powers, and different perceptions of domestic demands.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 25 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The European Union (EU) has faced a significant increase in salience and contestation across its member states in recent years. This has led to a range of strategic responses from EU-level actors, who have been compelled to adapt to these changing dynamics. This volume aims to explore and explain these strategic responses, with a particular emphasis on the role of domestic pressure in triggering both depoliticisation and politicisation.

Long ago, EU decisions had little impact on citizens' lives, and the supranational entity was largely ignored in public opinion and electoral politics across the member states. However, a series of existential crises has shaken the Union over the past decade, politicising Europe and testing the resilience of the supranational system to its core. EU-level actors have been placed under unprecedented pressure as a result of these crises.

This volume seeks to examine how and why EU-level actors respond to the diverse and sometimes conflicting demands and challenges posed by their member states. It challenges the notion that domestic contestation necessarily limits EU-level room for manoeuvre. Contributions to the book show that domestic pressure can be perceived as either constraining or enabling, with responses ranging from the restrained to the assertive. Actors at the EU level are driven by a variety of factors, including the survival of the Union, the preservation of their own powers, and different perceptions of domestic demands.

As a result, they will choose to politicise or depoliticise decision-making, behaviour, and policy outcomes at the supranational level. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367740801