The compound machinery of government: The case of seconded officials in the European commission

This article explores the compound machinery of government. Attention is directed toward decision making within the core executive of the European Union - the European Commission. The article studies seconded national civil servants (SNEs) hired on short-term contracts. The analysis benefits from an original and rich body of surveys and interview data derived from current and former SNEs. The decision-making dynamics of SNEs are shown to contain a compound mix of departmental, epistemic, and supranational dynamics. This study clearly demonstrates that the socializing power of the Commission is conditional and only partly sustained when SNEs exit the Commission. Any long-lasting effect of socialization within European Union's executive machinery of government is largely absent. The compound decision-making dynamics of SNEs are explained by (1) the organizational affiliations of SNEs, (2) the formal organization of the Commission apparatus, and (3) only partly by processes of resocialization of SNEs within the Commission

'Intergovernmental Functionalism? The Council of Europe in European Integration'

The Council of Europe is a significant presence in European integration but, although appreciated by human rights lawyers, its varied policy competences and outputs are largely overlooked by social scientists. Functional and intergovernmental theoretical approaches are considered for their potential insights. The workings of the COE are analysed, using evidence from official sources and participant interviews, to establish the nature of the policy process. Five key institutional aspects are discussed: access to membership, policy coverage, the institutional apparatus, decision procedures and processes, and mechanisms to ensure output compliance. Substantial contributions by national officials and experts, and the importance of publicly accepted norms in setting the limits within which policy consensus can be achieved are important features. Both functionalism and intergovernmentalism offer insights into the incremental operation and flexible policy achievements of the COE. Its explicit commitment to promoting democratic values reduces the need to choose between the two theoretical approaches