Three Waves of New Governance in the European Union
European Law Review - Andover (2011), Volume 36 , Issue 2 , p. 208-226
Posted: 17 Nov 2012
Date Written: April 1, 2011
Abstract
This article analyses the evolving relationship in the EU between “new governance” methods and law, arguing that this relationship can be seen in three distinct “waves” of activity. While the last few years have seen a relative decline in the level of academic and institutional interest in new governance processes, recent developments, such as the renewal of the Lisbon “2020” strategy, and accusations of “judicial activism” laid at the door of the European Courts, suggest a renewed role for new governance mechanisms. The article will argue for a “third wave” of governance research based on interaction between the policy elaborating function of new governance and the procedural role of the European Courts in providing due process and other rights. This emerging third wave — and its limits — suggest an emerging research agenda for EU lawyers and political scientists based not on the opposition, but the complementarity, of new governance and legal institutions.
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