The European Union beyond the Crisis: Evolving Governance, Contested Policies, and Disenchanted Publics

This volume explores institutional and policy developments in the EU and its member states in a parallel examination of citizens’ views of the effectiveness of crisis response reflected in public trust, output legitimacy, and satisfaction with democracy. Our approach to understanding the crisis posits EU-level governance and institutional change, national-level policymaking, and domestic politics as interrelated, interdependent domains of political action and public spheres that collectively shape the political landscape of post-crisis Europe. The volume sheds new light on the relationship among the institutional, policy, and polity consequences of the crisis. The book has two fundamental aims. The first is to demonstrate the interconnected nature of European governance, domestic reform, and democratic politics. The unprecedented complexity of the financial, sovereign debt, economic, and social crises in Europe has led to a political crisis that reflects the struggle to effectively address its various causes and effects. The second objective is to present a theoretically informed assessment of the consequences of the European crises for state-society relations and democratic legitimacy. Our analysis of the crisis in a variety of national contexts and European governance highlights the difficulties faced by political decision-makers. We find that the domestic policy process is selectively affected or disconnected from the process of rule-making at the EU level, that public opinion still matters in the process of policy formation and EU crisis response, and that the salience of the EU agenda in the domestic public sphere increasingly depends on the preferences of political actors. Public response to the crisis has become increasingly complex as well, ranging from declining trust in the political institutions, emerging national stereotypes, changing expectations of the EU level of crisis response, growing disconnect between political parties and voters, and evolving intra-regional distinctions across the EU’s east-west divide.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Beyond the Crisis: Governance and Politics in the European Union between Crisis and Opportunity (Editor’s Introduction) Boyka Stefanova Part I: European Governance in a Time of Crisis: Limitations and Prospects of The EU’s Economic and Monetary Union Chapter 2: Collaborative Federalism in the European Union: Intergovernmental Relations and the Allocation of Powers in the Economic and Monetary Union Robert Csehi Chapter 3: Trust and Currency: Functional Preconditions and Problems of the Euro Jenny Preunkert Chapter 4: European Monetary Union versus European Clearing Union: An Application of Keynes to Regional Monetary Systems Ashley A.C. Hess Chapter 5: Why the Euro Will Survive: The Institutionalization of Accepted Policies through Key Actors Leif Johan Eliasson Part II: The Politics of Crisis Response: European Governance Meets Public Policy Chapter 6: The Sovereign Debt Crisis, Bailout Politics, and Fiscal Coordination in the European Union Hilary Appel and Carissa Tudor Block Chapter 7: A Discernible Impact? The Influence of Public Opinion on EU Policy-Making Jennifer Boyle and Chris Hasselmann Chapter 8: Informal Governance and the Eurozone Crisis Alexandra Hennessy Chapter 9: Coping with Financial Crisis: Crisis Response, Institutional Innovation, and the Variety of Finance Capitalism in Italy and Spain Boyka Stefanova Chapter 10: EU Affairs in Spanish Electoral Competition at the Height of the Euro Crisis Cristina Ares Castro-Conde Chapter 11: Testing the Resilience of Civil Society: The Euro Crisis, Portugal’s Welfare State and the Third Sector Miguel Glatzer Part III: Democratic Politics in the Context of Crisis: a Citizens’ Perspective Chapter 12: Public Attitudes and Support for the EU in the Wake of the Financial Crisis Jennifer Boyle and Chris Hasselmann Chapter 13: Implications of the Greek Crisis: Nationalism, Enemy Stereotypes, and the European Union Zinovia Lialiouti and Giorgos Bithymitris Chapter 14: Identity and Economic Rationality: Explaining Attitudes towards the EU in a Time of Crisis Simona Guerra and Fabio Serricchio Chapter 15: Public Perceptions of the European Union and the Effect of the Crisis: A Persistent East-West Divide? Borbala Göncz Chapter 16: Satisfaction with Democracy in Times of Economic Crises Evelyn Bytzek

About the Author :
Boyka Stefanova is associate professor in the Department of Political Science and Geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Review :
The financial and economic crisis of 2008 provoked a political earthquake in the European Union, affecting EU institutions, member states, and the citizens of Europe in dramatic fashion. The European Union beyond the Crisis: Evolving Governance, Contested Policies, Disenchanted Publics is remarkable in its ability to analyze how the interdependence and tensions between EU governing structures, national governments, and citizens impacted the policy responses to the crisis. In that respect, it goes beyond rehearsed discussions around multi-level governance or the democratic deficit in the European Union and represents a very welcome addition to the literature on EU politics and policymaking. This large collection of essays offers both the essential background and a challenge to those interested in understanding the consequences of the global financial crisis of 2007–2009 for European governance. It provides fresh insight into the long-standing questions of political trust and democratic legitimacy in times of crisis. The theoretical claims are substantiated by detailed cases studies and sophisticated analyses of public opinion. There is no doubt this will be seen as an exciting contribution to the literature on European politics and beyond.