The Rules of Federalism: Institutions and Regulatory Politics in the EU and Beyond

This book examines patterns of environmental regulation in the EU and four federal polities—the US, Germany, Australia, and Canada. Kelemen develops a theory of regulatory federalism based on his comparative study, arguing that the greater the fragmentation of power at the federal level, the less discretion is allotted to component states.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acknowledgments 1. Regulatory Federalism and the EU 2. Environmental Regulation in the EU 3. Environmental Regulation in the United States 4. Environmental Regulation in Germany 5. Environmental Regulation in Australia and Canada 6. Food and Drug Safety Regulation in the EU 7. Institutional Structure and Regulatory Style Notes References Cases Cited Index

About the Author :
R. Daniel Kelemen is the Jean Monnet Chair and Director of the Center for European Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University.

Review :
Kelemen defines the European Union (EU) as a federal polity whose principle legislative function is to make social regulations. He develops a theory of regulatory federalism and applies it to the EU on the basis of a broad comparative analysis of the implementation of environmental regulations in Australia, Canada, Germany, and the U.S...[An] outstanding contribution to the literature on federalism and policy. The first chapter, the theoretical chapter, is worth the price of the book alone. -- A. F. Johnson Choice 20041101 This is an impressive achievement. -- Robert T. Nakamura Publius In this engaging, clearly written volume, Daniel Kelemen synthesizes and elaborates a theoretical model that contributes to several literatures. As a study of the European Union, it stands at the logical endpoint of a growing trend toward the application of analytical tools drawn from conventional comparative politics. As an account of governmental institutions, the broad analytic narrative breaks new ground in sorting out the consequences of federalism. As an analysis of public policy, especially environmental policy, the book offers a new argument about the institutional sources of regulatory politics...As a comparative study of the institutional politics of regulation, The Rules of Federalism is in several ways an exemplary work. Rarely has a comparative framework done more to illuminate the properties of the European Union, or to put the case of the EU to work in the service of more general theoretical analyses of politics and policy...The analysis also takes a decisive step beyond descriptive comparison of regulatory styles toward historical institutional explanation of their sources...Kelemen elaborates a point of view that should help recast debates about the nature of European integration...The theoretical contributions and innovative comparative design of this study make it an important addition to the literature on comparative public policy and comparative federalism. Although it is unlikely to settle the vigorous ongoing debates about the nature of the EU, it offers a significant new perspective that is must reading for scholars working on the subject. -- Jeffrey M. Sellers Perspectives on Politics 20050901 Daniel Kelemen's sober assessment of federal governance in the EU, the U.S., Germany, Canada, and Australia is refreshing...He proves himself a clear-sighted and profound scholar of German federalism...His conclusion, according to which the EU is moving along a path in the direction of American-style federalism, is well-founded and therefore thought-provoking. -- Olaf Poeschke Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 20041210