‘New’ governance in European Union policy making: Policy innovation or political compromise in European telecommunications?

Simpson, S

Abstract

This article makes a contribution to research on soft or ‘new’ governance in EU policy
making by examining the recent history of telecommunications policy as a case study, a
sector hitherto not widely recognised for displaying this kind of governance. Training its
focus on the process leading to the agreement of the latest iteration of the EU’s
Electronic Communications Regulatory Framework, the article finds strong evidence
that soft governance has been used within hard governance legislative frameworks
primarily as a tool of political compromise, in respect of the classic problem of securing
a balance of regulatory power distribution between the national and EU level. Soft
governance employed in this way casts doubt over its ability to achieve openness,
common purpose, innovativeness and regulatory efficacy.

Citation

Simpson, S. (2011). ‘New’ governance in European Union policy making: Policy innovation or political compromise in European telecommunications?. West European Politics, 34(5), 1114-1133. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2011.591108

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Dec 22, 2011
• Journal: West European Politics
• Print ISSN: 0140-2382
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 34
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1114-1133
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2011.591108
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2011.591108