This edited collection addresses a paradox at the heart of the European Union: if it is a constantly enlarging empire of governance, how can almost thirty member states design policies as an administrative whole, whilst narrowly approaching all political issues from one economic point of view? The contributors to this collection approach this by studying knowledge production, policy formation and policy implementation in the union. The topics covered include the history of the union, its nature as an empire in the making compared to historical successors as well as current USA and China, formation of union level statistical data and policy documents, paradoxes of fiscal governance, social innovation policy, youth and education policy, energy policy and foreign policy with particular regard to Russia. The concluding chapter outlines five alternative future scenarios for the union extending from collapse and marginalization to the emergence of a federal empire. The book is essential reading for anybody interested in the EU, including students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including sociology, political science, international relations, economics, management studies, public and social policy, science and technology studies, and environmental policy.

Autorentext

Risto Heiskala is Professor and Director of the Institute for Advanced Social Research at the University of Tampere, Finland.

Jari Aro is University Researcher at the University of Tampere, Finland.

Inhalt

1. The EU: A Deepening, Enlarging or Collapsing Union?.- 2. The Emergence of the European Union as a Very Incoherent Empire.- 3. An Extending Empire of Governance: The EU in Comparison to Empires Past and Present.- 4. A Promoter of Values or a Shopkeepers' Empire? Economy and Society in the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Trade Policy of the EU.- 5. Eurostat: Making Europe Commensurate and Comparable.- 6. The Power of Indicators in Making European States Governable in the Europe 2020 Strategy.- 7. Contradictory Fiscal Governance in the European Union: Towards a Consolidation Empire?.- 8. Social Innovation Policy in the European Union.- 9. Reproducing or Remaking the Social Contract with Young People in the Europe 2020 Strategy?.- 10. Is the EU a Great Power? The Case of Natural Gas.- 11. An Empire Without an Emperor? The EU and Its Eastern Neighbourhood.- 12. Imperial Worldmaking: Innovation and Security in the EU Compared to the USA and China.- 13. Future Challenges for the EU: Five Scenarios from Collapse and Marginalisation to the Emergence of a Federal Empire