Europeanisation and new patterns of governance in Ireland

Abstract:
To what extent did Europeanisation contribute to Ireland’s transformation from ‘poor relation’ to being admired and emulated? This book examines how Europeanisation affected Irish policy-making and implementation and how Ireland maximised the policy opportunities arising from membership of the EU while preserving embedded patterns of political behaviour.

What is different about this book is its focus on the complex interplay of European, domestic and global factors as the explanation for the changing character of the ‘Celtic Tiger’. It contests and complements previous accounts of the Europeanisation effect on Ireland’s institutions and policies, providing an analysis of Ireland’s rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in June 2008.

The authors show that, although Europeanisation spurred significant institutional and policy change, domestic forces filtered those consequences while global factors induced further adaptation. By identifying and assessing the adaptational pressures in a range of policy areas the book establishes that, in tandem with the European dimension, domestic features and global developments were key determinants of change and harbingers of new patterns of governance. In challenging the usually unquestioning acceptance of the EU’s dominant role in Ireland’s transformation, the study adds conceptually and empirically to the literature on Europeanisation.

The review of change in discourse, policy paradigms and procedures is complemented by an exploration of change in the economy, regional development, agricultural and rural policy, environmental policy and foreign policy. This analysis provides evidence of the uneven impact of Europeanisation and the salience of domestic and global mediating factors. Highlighting as it does Europeanisation’s policy-specific variations in impact and revealing the elaborate interweaving of domestic, European and global factors, this study offers scholars and practitioners deeper insight into Ireland’s ambivalent relationship with Europe.

Contents:

1. Ireland and the European Union - Nicholas Rees, Bríd Quinn and Bernadette Connaughton

2. Europeanisation: a catalyst for change - Nicholas Rees and Bernadette Connaughton

3. Mediating forces and the domestic polity - Bríd Quinn and Bernadette Connaughton

4. Political institutions and administrative adaptation - Bernadette Connaughton

5. The Irish economy and Europe - Nicholas Rees

6. Regional policy and politics - Bríd Quinn

7. The politics of environmental policy - Bernadette Connaughton

8. Does the CAP fit? Agriculture policy in Ireland and the EU - Bríd Quinn

9. Ireland’s foreign relations - Nicholas Rees

10. Conclusions: institutional learning and adaptation to Europe - Nicholas Rees, Bríd Quinn and Bernadette Connaughton