<i>’Sometimes when I read edited volumes, I start thinking: have these contributors ever spent a day in the same room, discussing what brings them together and ultimately gives the reader the image of a genuine collective project? I am delighted to see that this collection on the conditions for the emergence of common political order in Europe is entirely coherent, compelling, and delivered in very attractive ways. Jarle Trondal has assembled a world team of researchers at the University of Agder in Kristiansand - This is the product of an integrated group of researchers that shares a vision and a progressive research agenda. The book tackles very big questions that define institutional and organizational analysis: how do common institutions emerge, develop and possibly decline or retrench? And what are the effects of multi-level, variable institutional orders in Europe? The volume is strong on explanation and empirically rich, taking us on a journey via the European public administration, the effects of institutions for accountability like the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman, and the many recombinant forms of regional and municipal cooperation in Europe, cutting across borders and national institutions. There will be huge interest for this volume across public administration, international relations, comparative regionalism, European integration, and institutional analysis.’</i>
- Claudio M. Radaelli, University of Exeter, UK,
<i>’This volume makes a highly inspiring and innovative contribution to the analysis of the formation and growth of common political orders in Europe, systematically combining conceptual advancement with rich empirical studies of order formation at different levels of governance.’</i>
- Christoph Knill, University of Munich, Germany,
<i>’The authors of this excellent volume map political order beyond the nation state. They offer highly valuable insights into the ongoing transformation of institutions at international, macro-regional and local levels. Focusing on processes transcending arenas and reconfiguring political exchange, they have produced an inspiring perspective on transnational polity emergence.’</i>
- Michael Bauer, German University of Administrative Sciences Speyer,
The book's objectives are twofold: first, to explain institutional birth and growth, and second, and most importantly, to assess key effects of order formation. To what extent, and under which conditions, does common political order transform pre-existing political orders? In sum, the book discusses how we can assess theoretically and empirically the rise, stagnation and retrenchment of common political order in Europe. The authors expertly tackle these questions with empirical illustrations of emergent political orders at international, inter-regional and local levels.
The Rise of Common Political Order will have great appeal to political scientists, public administration scholars and international relations scholars based in the EU, US and beyond.