The Routledge Handbook of European Union Politics

1. Introduction: European Union Politics Facing New Realities

Michèle Knodt, Natalia Chaban, Oriol Costa, and Patrick Müller

Part 1: Characteristics of EU Politics

2.  Governance and Politics in the European Union: A Political System Sui Generis between Nation State and International Organization

Martin Große Hüttmann

3. EU Politics in a Multi-Level Governance System

Paul J. Stephenson and Michèle Knodt

4. Democratic Governance in the European Union

Vivien A. Schmidt

5. Differentiated Integration

Frank Schimmelfennig and Funda Tekin

6. Europeanization

Claudio M. Radaelli and Marina Cino Pagliarello

7. European Disintegration

Sven Van Kerckhoven and Max Nagel

8. (Harder) Soft Governance in the European Union

Michèle Knodt

9. EU Responses to Democratic Backsliding

Michael Blauberger and Ulrich Sedelmeier

10. Crisis and Resilience in the European Union

Marianne Riddervold, Jarle Trondal, and Akasemi Newsome

11. Brexit

Monika Brusenbauch Meislová

12. European Politics in Crisis Management

Raphael Bossong and Nicolai von Ondarza

Part 2: Institutions in EU Politics: Between Autonomy and Integration 

13. The European Commission

Michelle Cini

14. Council of the European Union

Jeffrey Lewis

15. The European Council: The EU’s Lead Executive Institution

Uwe Pütter

16. The Regional Dimension of the European Union

Carolyn Rowe 

17. Cities and Urban Politics in the EU

Karsten Zimmermann

18. The European Parliament: Dealing with Inter-Institutional Gains, Political Pressure, and Structural Deficits

Andreas Maurer

19. Cleavages in the European Parliament

Alina Felder-Stindt and Levan Kakhishvili

20. The Court of Justice of the European Union in EU Politics

Fabien Terpan and Sabine Saurugger

21. Trilogues as a (Formal) Informal Tool of EU Decision-Making

Ariadna Ripoll Servent and William Kjærgaard Egendal

22. Agencification in the EU Multilevel Administrative System

Jarle Trondal

23. The European Administrative Space: Policy-Making in Multilevel Administration

Eva G. Heidbreder and Johannes Gerken

Part 3: Participation, Attitudes, and Perceptions in the EU

24. Citizens' Attitudes to the European Union in Times of Crisis

Zuzana Ringlerova

25. Changes in EU Voters’ Preferences and Policy Priorities

Lorenzo Codogno and Mara Monti

26. From Permissive Consensus to Constraining Dissensus: The Politicization of the European Union in Domestic Public Opinion

Luís Russo and Mariana C. Duarte

27. EU Citizens’ Perceptions of the EU

Natalia Chaban

28. Collaborative Journalism and Politics in Europe: Journalists as Opinion-Shapers and Members of the Public in the EU

Elvira García de Torres and David Parra Valcarce

29. Central European Populist Euroscepticism: Perceptions of the European Union

Natasza Styczyńska

30. Participation in the EU

Christine Quittkat and Michèle Knodt

31. Democratic Resilience in the EU and the Role of Citizen Engagement Mechanisms

Igor Vidačak

32. EU Interest Groups: Lobbying Strategies and Transparency Regulation

David Coen and Alexander Katsaitis

33. The Double Fragmentation of the European Public Sphere

Maximilian Conrad and Saul Newman

34. The Conference on the Future of Europe

Karl Magnus Johansson and Tapio Raunio

35. Gender and Politics in the EU

Heather MacRae, Roberta Guerrina, and Annick Masselot

Part 4: External Dimension of EU Politics

36. The EU and the Fragmentation of the Liberal International Order

Oriol Costa

37. External Differentiated Integration: Institutionalizing Third-Country Participation in the EU

Sandra Lavenex and Matis Poussardin

38. Hostage-Taking in EU Foreign and Security Politics

Patrick Müller and Peter Slominski

39. The Geopolitical Commission

Tuomas Iso-Markku and Marco Siddi

40. The Multiple-Hatted Role of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Ben Tonra

41. The European Parliament in EU Foreign Policy: An ‘Evolving Diplomatic Actor’

Seda Gürkan

42. Enlargement Politics: From Normative Transformation to Geostrategic Investment

Andrea Gawrich and Doris Wydra

43. The EU and Multilateral Negotiations

Tom Delreux

44. The Dynamics of Organizational Overlap in European Security: EU, NATO, and the Politics of Inter-Organizational Cooperation

Stephanie Hofmann and Monika Sus

45. Hybrid Interference and EU Governance

Patrick Müller and Michèle Knodt

Biography

Michèle Knodt is a Professor of Political Science and Jean Monnet Chair, ad personam at Technical University Darmstadt, Germany.

Natalia Chaban is a Professor at the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and a twice-awarded Jean Monnet Chair.

Oriol Costa is a Senior Research Associate at IBEI and an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.

Patrick Müller is a Professor of European Studies at the University of Vienna and the Vienna School of International Studies, Austria.

“This timely and authoritative Handbook brings together some of the most distinguished scholars in the field to provide an exceptionally rich and wide-ranging assessment of European Union politics. It offers sharp insights into key themes such as participation, contestation, identity, and the EU’s evolving role in an increasingly fragile global order. A must-read for scholars, students, and practitioners alike who seek to understand the complexities and challenges of contemporary European governance.”

Gerda Falkner, Head of the Centre for European Integration Research, Institute for Political Science, University of Vienna, Austria

“This impressive Handbook stands out for its rigorous political science perspective on the European Union. It provides a comprehensive and analytically sophisticated account of the EU as a political system, exploring the institutions, actors, and processes that shape policymaking in a multilevel context. With its thematic breadth, empirical depth, and conceptual clarity, it is an invaluable reference for understanding both the internal dynamics and the external challenges facing the EU today. A landmark volume for anyone teaching, researching, or engaging with EU politics.”

Knud Erik Jørgensen, Professor emeritus at Aarhus University, Denmark