EU and Federalism

Finn Laursen holds the Canada Research Chair in European Union (EU) Studies at the Dalhousie Arts and Social Sciences Faculty and is Professor in the Department of Political Science.

• Contents: Preface; Part I Introduction: Federalism: from classical theory to modern day practice in the EU and other polities, Finn Laursen. Part II The Federal Polity: Comparing the incomparable: treating the EU in comparative context, Steven B. Wolinetz; The European Union - a federation sui generis?, Ingeborg Tömmel; The EU as a '4th branch' of member state governments?, Chien-Yi Lu. Part III Federalism and the Environment: Environmental policy in the EU and Canada, Robert Boardman; Regional responses to the glocal water crisis: the EU and SADC experiences compared, Paulo Canelas de Castro. Part IV Federalism, Employment and Health Policy: Ties that bind: comparing modes of governance in employment policy in Canada and the European Union, Donna E. Wood; The dialectics of law and policy: federal health policy in Canada and the EU, Katherine Fierlbeck. Part V Federalism, Governance and Economic Performance: EU and OECD benchmarking and peer review compared, Nico S. Groenendijk; The comparison of policy responses to financial crises between the EU post-2008 and Japan in 1990s, Eiji Yamashita. Part VI Federalism, Security and Migration: Security governance in the Transatlantic area: United States, NATO and the European Union, Roberto Domínguez; A problem by their own hands: intra-EU migration and its implications for Europe, Michael Johns. Part VII Concluding Comments: The EU and Federalism: constitutional equilibrium or continued federalization?, Finn Laursen; Index.

'Finn Laursen has produced a welcome addition to the literature on EU federalism by applying the concept to a number of policy sectors and by comparing EU policies with the policies of other international organisations and federal states. This rigorous examination, produced by an outstanding international team of scholars, is an impressive achievement that will become required reading in the field of EU federalism.' Emil J. Kirchner, University of Essex, UK 'Though many often ask what the relationship is between the EU and federalism, this question is rarely studied in contemporary European integration studies. This volume provides answers to many important questions such as: Is the EU a federal state? Is it a state or an intergovernmental organization? Is the EU a sui generis organization? How do mature federations differ from the EU in various areas of policy-making. By providing various background chapters on various aspects of federalism, as well as case studies on different types of policy-making, this book fills a major gap in the literature on federalism and European integration. This well-written book contains chapters by many leading authors; it is a pleasure to read.' Amy Verdun, University of Victoria, Canada 'Such approaches to EU politics and policy are to be welcomed in a field that has for too long eschewed the explicit comparative route - especially that which involves direct comparisons with federal systems. To this end, the volume represents a contribution to the growing literature that seeks to shed light on the EU’s institutional development through comparative assessment... both welcome and informative... there are some valuable contributions - especially the three EU/Canadian case studies and one on EU/OECD benchmarking - that are well written and certainly deliver on the book’s federal and comparative promise.' Publius: the Journal of Federalism