Informal power in regional organizations: the case of the EU

摘要

The existing literature on informal policy in the European Union is a real strength of European studies, yet it fails to engage systematically with a discussion of power. This paper sets out to address this shortfall. Beginning with a contextual discussion of the literature on 'formal' policy-making, it provides a comprehensive review of the existing literature on informal policy in the EU, arguing that even though power is not acknowledged within this literature that much of it promotes a view consonant with Lukes' first face of power. The paper then calls for scholars of power to engage more systematically with the EU, offering some initial thoughts from the work of Lukes, Crenson, Gaventa and Kronsell to show how a power-based account would add considerably to our understanding.