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Notes toward a theory of multilevel governing in Europe

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  • Scharpf, Fritz W.

Abstract

The complexity of the multi-level European polity is not adequately represented by the single-level theoretical concepts of competing 'intergovernmentalist' and 'supranationalist' approaches. By contrast, empirical research focusing on multilevel interactions tends either to emphasize the uniqueness of its objects, or to create novel concepts - which are likely to remain contested even among Europeanists and have the effect of isolating European studies from the politicalscience mainstream in International Relations and Comparative Politics. These difficulties are bound to continue as long as researchers keep proposing holistic concepts that claim to represent the complex reality of the European polity as a whole. It is suggested that the present competition among poorly fitting and contested generalizations could be overcome if European studies made use of a plurality of simpler and complementary concepts, each of which is meant to represent the specific characteristics of certain subsets of multi-level interactions - which could also be applied and tested in other fields of political-science research. The paper goes on to describe four distinct modes of multi-level interaction in the European polity - 'mutual adjustment', 'intergovernmental negotiations', 'joint-decision making', and 'hierarchical direction' - and to discuss their characteristics by reference to the criteria of problem-solving capacity and institutional legitimacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Scharpf, Fritz W., 2000. "Notes toward a theory of multilevel governing in Europe," MPIfG Discussion Paper 00/5, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:mpifgd:p0025
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    1. Behning, Ute, 2003. "Die 'neue Methode der offenen Koordinierung': Versuche der integrationstheoretischen Klassifizierung einer neuen Form des sozialpolitischen Regierens in der Europäischen Union," Working papers of the ZeS 12/2003, University of Bremen, Centre for Social Policy Research (ZeS).
    2. Christopher Lord & Paul Magnette, 2004. "E Pluribus Unum? Creative Disagreement about Legitimacy in the EU," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 183-202, February.
    3. Ágh Attila, 2010. "Europeanization and Democratization in ECE: Towards Multi-Level and Multi-Actor Governance," NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 3(1), pages 7-29, July.
    4. Edwards, Peter & Kleinschmit, Daniela, 2013. "Towards a European forest policy — Conflicting courses," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 87-93.
    5. Konrad, Kai A. & Cusack, Thomas R., 2013. "Hanging together or being hung separately: The strategic power of coalitions where bargaining occurs with incomplete information," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Behavior SP II 2013-202, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    6. Wolf, Sebastian, 2011. "Euratom Before the Court: A Political Theory of Legal Non-Integration," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 15, December.
    7. Gregory Jackson, 2016. "Toward a Conceptual Framework for Understanding Institutional Change in Japanese Capitalism: Structural Transformations and Organizational Diversity," Working Papers halshs-01643921, HAL.

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