Governance in Europe The Role of Interest Groups

The concept of governance has increasingly attracted practitioners and scholars of politics and public administration. "Governance" comprises reflections on new forms of public control and regulation, which strive to come to terms with the complex challenges of modern societies. Besides the potential gains in efficiency, governance has immense normative implications due to possible problems of accountability and transparency. The European context provides a particular interesting field of study as it represents an evolving political system. This volume presents an overview of current research on this topic, compromised of both theoretical and empirical studies. Specifically, it addresses questions regarding the role of interest groups in formulating European public policies at the European and the national level. What impact do interests groups have? What determines their influence? What are the empirical and normative implications? By bringing together contributions that approach these questions from different perspectives, the volume offers a stimulating outlook that should inspire further research in the field. It is particularly relevant for students of European integration and interest intermediation in comparative politics.