Formulating European work and employment regulation during the pre-crisis years: Coalition Building and institutional inertia

TY - JOUR

T1 - Formulating European work and employment regulation during the pre-crisis years

T2 - Coalition Building and institutional inertia

AU - Mailand, Mikkel

AU - Arnholtz, Jens

PY - 2015/5/10

Y1 - 2015/5/10

N2 - This article discusses whether the pre-crisis political right-turn in the European Union (EU) has had an impact on the development of European work and employment regulation. It finds that although pro-regulation actors have been weakened in the year leading up to the crisis, the expected weakening of Social Europe is only seen in a minority of the eight cases of EU-level work and employment regulation analysed. It is argued that two mechanisms can help explain this weaker than expected impact: successful resistance from pro-regulation actors and a certain form of organizational inertia linked to the actor’s search for legitimacy, especially the Commission’s need for a stronger social profile in order to be reappointed. Moreover, it is argued that stable coalitions have only played a role in some of the cases. The coalitions in action seem less stable and active than previous studies indicate.

AB - This article discusses whether the pre-crisis political right-turn in the European Union (EU) has had an impact on the development of European work and employment regulation. It finds that although pro-regulation actors have been weakened in the year leading up to the crisis, the expected weakening of Social Europe is only seen in a minority of the eight cases of EU-level work and employment regulation analysed. It is argued that two mechanisms can help explain this weaker than expected impact: successful resistance from pro-regulation actors and a certain form of organizational inertia linked to the actor’s search for legitimacy, especially the Commission’s need for a stronger social profile in order to be reappointed. Moreover, it is argued that stable coalitions have only played a role in some of the cases. The coalitions in action seem less stable and active than previous studies indicate.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Social Europe

KW - coalitions

KW - employee involvement

KW - employment policy

KW - posting

U2 - 10.1177/0958928715573482

DO - 10.1177/0958928715573482

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0958-9287

VL - 25

SP - 194

EP - 209

JO - Journal of European Social Policy

JF - Journal of European Social Policy

IS - 2

ER -