Key practitioners who work in and with EU business associations come together with leading policy makers from the EU institutions and research academics to analyze change factors for the associations and their role in EU policy making and implementation. Contributors include the Head of the team responsible for the EU White Paper on Governance, the Chair of the UK CBI Trade Association Forum, the Chair of the UK Political Studies Association, and the longest serving Secretary General of UNICE.

The book analyses how business interest organizations responded to the challenge of European integration and delivers important insights into major characteristics of EU governance and policy-making.

This work completes Beck's trilogy on 'cosmopolitan realism'. 'The Cosmopolitan Vision' develops the theoretical perspective which in 'Power in the Global Age' is applied to issues concerning the postnational legitimation of political power and, here, is tested against a special case, the unknown Europe in which we live.

The integration of ten Central and East European countries (CEEC) into the EU as part of the 2004 and 2007 enlargements poses new challenges to EU governance, as the number of countries involved has thereby increased dramatically. However, the actors coming from the new member states also face challenges as they attempt to integrate themselves into EU decision-making processes. This book analyses the attempts of of civil society organisations from the Czech Republic and Poland to engage in EU governance in four policy fields. The guiding question is whether civil society organisations from the Central and East European member states have (or can gain) the capacity for meaningful participation in EU governance.After an introductory part, which outlines the analytical framework and offers a review of the literature, the actors and rules of EU governance are profiled. The third and fourth parts of the book then present case studies. The case studies address the civil society organisations most actively involved in EU governance, namely typical NGOs, trade unions, employers’ organisations and business associations.

In the current period of globalization, Governing Interests presents new research on the impact of internationalization on the organization and representation of business interests through trade and employer associations. By exploring ongoing, gradual, but nevertheless profound changes in the structures and functions of business interest associations, the book develops a precise understanding of the relationship between the national and the international. Both conceptual and empirical, some papers included in this significant volume adopt a ‘bird's eye view’ of the topic, whilst others concentrate on individual industries or countries, and several, through examination and analysis, consider the effects on interest representation and the repercussions on effective governance. Contributed to and edited by leading academics, the diversity of research questions and methods used in this volume provide the reader with an excellent understanding of the subject and, importantly, caution against rash simplifications. Comprehensive and scholarly, this text will be of particular relevance to political scientists and sociologists.

This is a unique collection of papers which brings together those who work in and with EU business associations at the very highest level with many of the leading academic authors on associations over the past two decades. It examines the factors that influence the effectiveness of EU business associations, and the prospects for associations and their members to influence these. It is designed to appeal both to analysts of debates about interest groups, collective action and European integration, and to those who work in and with EU business associations.

In this thoroughly updated edition, Lehne takes a comparative approach, evaluating the U.S. political economy with respect to those of Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and the EU. The book provides detailed historical context for, and a conceptual understanding of, the business-government environment, and then clari?es the roles of the major actors and outlines the regulatory and policy frameworks. Along the way, Lehne probes some of the most crucial dilemmas facing government and business today.