EU actors under pressure: Politicisation and depoliticisation as strategic responses

Edoardo Bressanelli; Christina Magdalena Maria Koop; Christine Reh

EU actors under pressure: Politicisation and depoliticisation as strategic responses

Edoardo Bressanelli, Christina Magdalena Maria Koop, Christine Reh

Hertie School of Governance

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

111 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This contribution conceptualises bottom-up politicisation in Europe’s multi-level system. EU-level actors, we argue, respond strategically to the functional and political pressures ‘travelling up’ from the member states. Perceiving domestic dissensus as either constraining or enabling, actors display both self-restraint and assertiveness in their responses. Motivated by the survival of the EU as a system ‘under attack’, and by the preservation of their own substantive and procedural powers, actors choose to either politicise or depoliticise decision-making, behaviour and policy outcomes at the supranational level. As a collection, this Special Issue demonstrate that the choices actors make ‘under stress’ at the EU-level—ranging from ‘restrained depoliticisation’ to ‘assertive politicisation’—are, indeed, conditional on how bottom-up pressures are perceived and processed.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	329-341
Journal	Journal of European Public Policy
Volume	27
Issue number	3
Publication status	Published - 2020

Keywords

constraining dissensus
enabling consensus
depoliticisation
politicisation
responsiveness
European Union

Access to Document

bressanelli_koop_reh_intro_jepp_postprintAccepted author manuscript, 402 KB

Cite this

@article{5377949a66c54c37bbf1988cec3f19fd,

title = "EU actors under pressure: Politicisation and depoliticisation as strategic responses",

abstract = "This contribution conceptualises bottom-up politicisation in Europe{\textquoteright}s multi-level system. EU-level actors, we argue, respond strategically to the functional and political pressures {\textquoteleft}travelling up{\textquoteright} from the member states. Perceiving domestic dissensus as either constraining or enabling, actors display both self-restraint and assertiveness in their responses. Motivated by the survival of the EU as a system {\textquoteleft}under attack{\textquoteright}, and by the preservation of their own substantive and procedural powers, actors choose to either politicise or depoliticise decision-making, behaviour and policy outcomes at the supranational level. As a collection, this Special Issue demonstrate that the choices actors make {\textquoteleft}under stress{\textquoteright} at the EU-level—ranging from {\textquoteleft}restrained depoliticisation{\textquoteright} to {\textquoteleft}assertive politicisation{\textquoteright}—are, indeed, conditional on how bottom-up pressures are perceived and processed. ",

keywords = "constraining dissensus, enabling consensus, depoliticisation, politicisation, responsiveness, European Union",

author = "Edoardo Bressanelli and Koop, {Christina Magdalena Maria} and Christine Reh",

year = "2020",

language = "English",

volume = "27",

pages = "329--341",

journal = "Journal of European Public Policy",

issn = "1350-1763",

publisher = "Routledge",

number = "3",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - EU actors under pressure

T2 - Politicisation and depoliticisation as strategic responses

AU - Bressanelli, Edoardo

AU - Koop, Christina Magdalena Maria

AU - Reh, Christine

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - This contribution conceptualises bottom-up politicisation in Europe’s multi-level system. EU-level actors, we argue, respond strategically to the functional and political pressures ‘travelling up’ from the member states. Perceiving domestic dissensus as either constraining or enabling, actors display both self-restraint and assertiveness in their responses. Motivated by the survival of the EU as a system ‘under attack’, and by the preservation of their own substantive and procedural powers, actors choose to either politicise or depoliticise decision-making, behaviour and policy outcomes at the supranational level. As a collection, this Special Issue demonstrate that the choices actors make ‘under stress’ at the EU-level—ranging from ‘restrained depoliticisation’ to ‘assertive politicisation’—are, indeed, conditional on how bottom-up pressures are perceived and processed.

AB - This contribution conceptualises bottom-up politicisation in Europe’s multi-level system. EU-level actors, we argue, respond strategically to the functional and political pressures ‘travelling up’ from the member states. Perceiving domestic dissensus as either constraining or enabling, actors display both self-restraint and assertiveness in their responses. Motivated by the survival of the EU as a system ‘under attack’, and by the preservation of their own substantive and procedural powers, actors choose to either politicise or depoliticise decision-making, behaviour and policy outcomes at the supranational level. As a collection, this Special Issue demonstrate that the choices actors make ‘under stress’ at the EU-level—ranging from ‘restrained depoliticisation’ to ‘assertive politicisation’—are, indeed, conditional on how bottom-up pressures are perceived and processed.

KW - constraining dissensus

KW - enabling consensus

KW - depoliticisation

KW - politicisation

KW - responsiveness

KW - European Union

M3 - Article

SN - 1350-1763

VL - 27

SP - 329

EP - 341

JO - Journal of European Public Policy

JF - Journal of European Public Policy

IS - 3

ER -

EU actors under pressure: Politicisation and depoliticisation as strategic responses

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this