Recent ies_pri items

Governing the Capital — Comparing Institutional Reform in Berlin, London and Paris

Mon, 1 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000

The paper examines institutional changes in the political and administrative structures governing the cities of Berlin, London and Paris. In doing so, it analyzes the extent to which convergent trends – driven by forces related to increased international competition and European integration – have shaped recent reforms of the governance systems of these European capital cities.

In particular, the analysis focuses on the vertical dimension of centralization vs. decentralization as reflected in the power balance between city-wide authorities and lower-tiers of government (such as Bezirke, boroughs or arrondissements). In view of the two-tier system of government, there are many clear lines of comparison between the sample cities. Traditionally, however, in each case government reform has followed conspicuously different routes. While Paris represents a classical example of a centralized-unitary city government, London’s system of government – despite the recently installed...

How Many Third Ways? Comparing the British, French and German Left in Government

Mon, 1 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000

In the late 1990s, the European Left seemed to be once more in the ascendancy with Social Democratic-led governments in power in the majority of EU countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. At the same time, the debate about the so-called ‘Third Way’ — as an icon of the apparent electoral revitalization of European Social Democracy — rose to become the most important reform discourse in the European party landscape.

In Germany, the much heralded ‘Neue Mitte’ reform agenda of Gerhard Schroeder’s incoming new cabinet of 1998 owed obvious intellectual debt to the Blairite doctrine of the Third Way. Against this background, some observers claim to have identified a convergent trend within European Social Democracy, while others stress the importance of national contexts and point to distinct national profiles ranging from market-oriented New Labour to (what used to be) statist ‘Jospinism’. In this context, this paper seeks to set the policy agenda of Germany’s...

Europe between Brussels and Byzantium: Some Thoughts on European Integration

Thu, 13 Nov 2003 00:00:00 +0000

There is, in theory, a plausible role for the European Union as the partner of a militarily assertive United States: the peacekeeper that follows in the wake of the peacemaker. The war in Iraq, however, has raised the possibility of a diametrically different role for Europe: as a potential imperial rival to the United States. There is no need to invoke the memory of either Rome or Byzantium to make the case that Europe is capable of spoiling America’s unipolar party. The successful conclusion of accession agreements with ten new member countries – not to mention the sustained appreciation of the euro against the dollar since Kennedy’s article appeared – have seemingly vindicated this analysis. So too, in the eyes of some commentators, has the vociferous and not wholly ineffectual opposition of at least some E.U. member states to American policy in Iraq. If the U.S. has an imperial rival today, then the E.U. appears to be it.

Why is there No Mad Cow Disease in the United States? Comparing the Politics of Food Safety in Europe and the U.S.

Thu, 2 May 2002 00:00:00 +0000

This paper compares approaches towards food safety regulation in Europe and the United States. It focuses on mad cow disease and examines how the British Government and the European Union handled the first big crisis in the nineties, juxtaposed to the American response. This worst public health disaster in Europe has led to new agencies and policies. However, these institutional changes do not abolish fragmentation, but extend the existing landscape of regulatory bodies. The paper emphasizes that fragmentation – as the American case shows despite its shortcomings – prevents science from being captured by the state, allows interest groups broader access and ensures a distinct pattern of checks and balances.