Research Catalog

Title

The European Commission and bureaucratic autonomy : Europe's custodians / Antonis A. Ellinas, Ezra Suleiman.

Author

Ellinas, Antonis A., 1975-

Publication

New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Suleiman, Ezra N., 1941-

Description

xiii, 237 p. : ill.; 22 cm.

Summary

"This book examines the struggle of the European Union bureaucracy to maintain its autonomy in an increasingly complex institutional setting and adverse political environment. Using an original survey of nearly two hundred top European Commission officials, it shows that the European Union is a coherent organization that shares a common culture of supranationalism. The European Union's multicephalous structure of political authority limits the capacity of European politicians to curb the autonomy of the Commission but tends to undermine the legitimacy of the organization, which finds itself under persistent political attacks. These attacks inadvertently help the organization bolster its defenses against the external threats and trigger internal legitimation processes that reinforce the devotion of its employees to its institutional mission. The rich survey data show how Commission bureaucrats establish themselves as the "custodians of Europe." The book helps disentangle the complexity of the Commission and makes a contribution to the study of international bureaucracies, a topic that has received little attention"--

Subjects

• Bureaucracy > European Union countries
• European Commission
• European Union

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-232) and index.

Contents

1. Introduction -- 2. The autonomy of national and transnational bureaucracies -- 3. Surveying top European bureaucrats -- 4. Autonomy at the top of the European bureaucracy -- 5. Political attempts to alter bureaucratic behavior -- 6. Cultural impediments to political control -- 7. Custodians of 'Europe' -- 8. Bureaucratic attitudes toward controversial policies -- 9. Conclusion -- Appendix A: Distribution of sample by Directorate-General or service -- Appendix B: Contact of European bureaucrats with the European Parliament.

Call Number

JFD 12-3924

ISBN

• 9781107023215 (hardback)
• 1107023211 (hardback)

LCCN

2011049971

OCLC

768072088

Author

Ellinas, Antonis A., 1975-

Title

The European Commission and bureaucratic autonomy : Europe's custodians / Antonis A. Ellinas, Ezra Suleiman.

Imprint

New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-232) and index.

Added Author

Suleiman, Ezra N., 1941-

Research Call Number

JFD 12-3924