European Policy Analysis最新文献

{"title":"Mixed Feelings: How Government Leaders Add to the Wickedness of Policy Problems Through Emotional Storylines","authors":"Tamara A. P. Metze,&nbsp;Imrat Verhoeven","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70055","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This paper redefines wicked problems to better include the emotional dimensions in the social construction of these problems. Drawing on research into policy controversies and the cultural politics of emotions, it examines how government leaders use emotional storylines tied to specific objects and thereby shape the contested-ness of such problems. The study is based on an interpretative analysis of 2381 newspaper articles (2012–2018) and 68 policy documents concerning earthquakes induced by natural gas-production in the north of the Netherlands. The findings show a shift from emotional storylines about material impacts of the earthquakes to those about distrust in relationships between governmental layers. The study highlights that government leaders must account for evolving emotional dynamics in governing wicked problems, as they add complexity. It underscores the importance of relational dimensions, including interactions between emotions, objects, and different levels of government.</p>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/epa2.70055","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149205363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Dataset on Legislative Decision-Making in the European Parliament: The DEU-IV Dataset","authors":"Javier Arregui,&nbsp;Nicolas Bicchi","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70054","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article introduces the DEU IV <i>dataset</i>, the latest iteration of the <i>Decision-making in the European Union</i> project. While previous versions focused on the Council of the EU, DEU IV systematically applies the framework to the European Parliament (EP) for the 2019–2024 term. The dataset employs the spatial model of politics to map the latent preferences of political groups, the Commission, and the Council across 113 controversial policy issues. The dataset is constructed using triangulated semi-structured interviews with 119 policy experts, supplemented by document coding and amendment analysis. By capturing the pre-negotiation <i>ideal points</i> and the final legislative outcomes, DEU IV reveals the internal mechanics of supranational bargaining and the influence of legislative committees. This paper details the selection criteria for the 31 legislative dossiers analysed, demonstrates the dataset's empirical robustness, and discusses its potential to advance our understanding of how preferences transform into policy within the world's most complex transnational parliament.</p>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/epa2.70054","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149205364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Expertise, Interests, and Impact: The Importance of MEP Background on Policy Positions","authors":"William T. Daniel,&nbsp;Steffen Hurka","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70062","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Do policy experts advance their positions more successfully in legislative negotiations? Using novel data on professional backgrounds, education, and special interest ties, we examine the extent to which individual characteristics of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) shape legislative outcomes across five key European Parliament committees. Drawing on DEU IV data on group-level positions, we test whether MEPs best suited to serve as committee rapporteurs are also most effective at influencing policy results. We identify the conditions under which expertise and stakeholder connections strengthen legislative impact within the Parliament's committee system. Results show that MEPs with relevant expertise and demonstrated interests can more successfully shape committee positions, but these advantages disappear in inter-institutional negotiations. Effects also vary by type of expertise and interest. Overall, findings highlight how legislator backgrounds influence party leaders' choices of committee leadership and internal policy coordination.</p>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/epa2.70062","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149145950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"When the European Council Intervenes: Bargaining Success in EU Legislation","authors":"Edoardo Bressanelli,&nbsp;Nicola Chelotti","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70060","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Despite the EU treaties limiting the European Council (EUCO)'s role to providing the Union's general political direction, several observers have documented its active intervention in several high-profile dossiers negotiated under the ordinary legislative procedure. This article builds on that insight asking: to what extent does the EUCO affect legislative outcomes? We examine whether EUCO intervention systematically increases the bargaining success of the Council at the expense of the European Parliament. We combine the DEU III and IV datasets with a dataset on EUCO conclusions, matching the national leaders' attention to legislation with the positions of the other EU actors. Our findings are mixed. While the impact of EUCO's involvement on bargaining success is not statistically significant, the effect is both significant and substantial when the focus is restricted to legislation related to core state powers. The findings bear important implications for democratic politics in the EU.</p>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/epa2.70060","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149145987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Coalitions in EU Environmental Policymaking: A Typology","authors":"Christopher Crellin","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70057","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>EU environmental policy processes are structured and influenced by coalitions of different shapes and sizes. Despite the structural variation, no systematic mapping or characterization of coalitions has been conducted. Consequently, this paper asks: what are the different types of coalitions present in EU environmental policy processes within the European Green Deal? Focusing on five policy processes related to the European Green Deal, coalitions are mapped and characterized across five structural dimensions, forming a coalition typology. Among the five policy processes 59 coalitions are identified and characterized into six types: the peripheral, the moderate authoritative, the fragmented, the colossal, the policy generalist, and the commanding. The typology proposes a way forward to explore coalition building and change, and the relationship between the structural configurations of coalitions, their strategies, and success.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149146584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Problem Structuring and Policy Design Decoupling: Causes, Consequences, and Pathways to Better Integration","authors":"Arnošt Veselý","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70058","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 <p>Problem structuring (PS) and policy design (PD) are inherently intertwined: defining problems requires considering feasible solutions, while designing policies involves engaging with real-world problems. Yet, in both research and practice, they are often decoupled. This becomes increasingly problematic as policy accumulation and layering narrow the space for policy design and shape how problems are defined. While existing literature emphasizes political, institutional, and fiscal constraints, less attention has been paid to cognitive constraints and their interaction with policy design. Drawing on structuration theory, this article argues that PS–PD decoupling is reproduced through the interaction between institutional structures and policy actors' interpretations. It identifies three interrelated mechanisms: anticipatory self-censorship, false coupling between policy problems and solutions, and the reproduction of institutionalized structures. Using illustrative examples, the article shows how these mechanisms contribute to PS–PD decoupling and proposes ways to reconnect both processes in policy analysis and practice.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/epa2.70058","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149146582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Micro-Level Design of Public Subsidies for Private Schools: A Typological Approach","authors":"Adrián Zancajo,&nbsp;Clara Fontdevila","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70059","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Public subsidies for private schools (PSPSs) are a widespread policy instrument across Western European education systems. Despite considerable heterogeneity in their design, systematic classifications of their varying configurations remain lacking. This paper adopts a micro-level approach to policy design to examine how PSPSs are calibrated. To this end, we develop a descriptive typology built around four context-invariant constitutive dimensions and apply it to 11 Western European education systems. The exercise yields four distinct types of PSPSs, each capturing a particular relationship between public authorities and private educational providers. We argue that this design-centric perspective offers analytical leverage to advance two persistent debates in the field: the impact of these policy instruments and the dynamics of policy change underpinning their evolution. More broadly, the typology illustrates the value of descriptive classification for bringing the analytical insights from the study of micro-level policy design into empirical research.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149146585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Making Policy, Making Authority: European Policy Process Research Across Epistemological Divides","authors":"Nils C. Bandelow,&nbsp;Johanna Hornung,&nbsp;Fritz Sager,&nbsp;Ilana Schröder","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70061","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;European Policy Analysis (EPA) is still a young journal. It was founded in 2015. This editorial introduction to the articles in issues 1 and 2 of 2026 is therefore only part of the twelfth volume. Anyone who has helped to establish a new academic journal knows how difficult the first years can be. A new journal must earn the confidence of authors, persuade reviewers to invest their time, establish reliable editorial procedures, and find its place in an already crowded field. We are therefore particularly grateful that EPA can increasingly be regarded as one of the established journals in international policy research.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The latest journal metrics reflect this development. EPA's Journal Impact Factor has increased to 3.8, while its current CiteScore stands at 6.7. The journal continues to be ranked in the first quartile across its core categories in both Web of Science and Scopus, including Political Science and Public Administration. These figures do not define the quality of a journal or of the individual articles it publishes. Citation indicators depend on databases, time periods, disciplinary citation practices, and many other factors that remain outside the control of editors and authors. Nevertheless, the fact that EPA has maintained its Q1 position across different rankings is a reason to celebrate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This development is the result of a collective effort. We are grateful to the authors who have entrusted EPA with their research, including many who submitted some of their strongest work to a journal that was still establishing its reputation. We are equally grateful to our reviewers. Academic peer review has become increasingly difficult to organize. Reviewers face growing demands on their time, while the number of submissions continues to rise. The careful, critical, and constructive reports they provide remain indispensable to the quality of the journal. We also thank our guest editors, editorial board members, and everyone involved in the publication process.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;EPA enters its new publication model from this strong position. Since the beginning of 2026, the journal has used continuous publication. Articles are assigned to the currently open issue as soon as they are ready for publication. Contributions belonging to a Special Issue are assigned to the relevant thematic collection. Authors no longer have to wait for the completion of a conventionally assembled issue before their work receives its final bibliographic designation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Continuous publication improves the speed and visibility of publication, but it also changes the role of editorial introductions. Under the previous model, the editors could arrange regular articles thematically and use introductions to identify connections between contributions. Under continuous publication, regular articles appear in the order in which they complete the production process. Their sequence no longer represents an editorial interpretation of the issue.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We do not want continu","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/epa2.70061","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149146530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modeling the Interplay of Policy and Practice in the EUI: Towards a Comprehensive, Multi-Level Perspective on Europeanization","authors":"Barbara Curyło,&nbsp;Alexander Frame,&nbsp;Maija-Kaisa Hirvonen","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70056","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The European Universities Initiative (EUI) constitutes a key instrument of Europeanization in higher education, linking supranational policy objectives with institutional practices. Successive alliance calls have broadened opportunities for cooperation while generating new regulatory, organizational, and coordination challenges. Positioned at the meso-level of governance, European University Alliances (EUAs) translate top-down policy frameworks into bottom-up, context-sensitive practices that are embedded in local university ecosystems and that produce multiple levels and overlapping forms of Europeanization. Building upon Europeanization, multi-level governance, policy learning, and the concept of “Everyday Europeanhood,” the study develops a conceptual framework to analyze the interplay between EUI policy and practice. The paper contends that the EUI promotes policy learning across multiple governance levels. It examines Europeanization through the lens of the EUI and understands the former as an ongoing process shaped by interactions among European institutions, Member States, alliances, and universities.</p>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/epa2.70056","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149146583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The EU's Strategy for Sustainability: A Landmark Turn With the European Green Deal?","authors":"Ekaterina Domorenok,&nbsp;Franco Gatti","doi":"10.1002/epa2.70035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/epa2.70035","url":null,"abstract":"<p>While the European Green Deal (EGD) has been widely recognized as a milestone in the EU's sustainability strategy, scholars disagree on the nature of the policy change it represents. Critics highlight its limited social and environmental ambitions, despite its portrayal as a “man on the moon” moment. Using a policy-paradigm lens, this study analyses the European Commission's EGD legislative package during the first 2 years after its adoption, focusing on discourse, policy instruments, and strategies for building political and societal support. The findings reveal the emergence of a new policy narrative integrating environmental sustainability, economic growth, and social inclusion, supported by revised instruments and political efforts to advance a “beyond-growth” agenda. These developments suggest an incremental paradigmatic shift, the full implications of which will only become clear over time.</p>","PeriodicalId":52190,"journal":{"name":"European Policy Analysis","volume":"12 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/epa2.70035","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148950581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}