Corporatist Governance and Europeanisation: No Future in the Multi-level Game?

Abstract

This article argues that against all odds, the corporatist inclusion of the major societal interests in public decision-making is still a relevant governance mechanism in the European multi-level system. At the national level, a diversity of systems continues to operate. At least in some cases, corporatist arrangements (which tend to be austerity- and supply-side oriented) were prompted by the establishment of the EC Internal Market and the EMU. At the European level, the fragmented EU system encompasses significant differences among policy areas, including -- against frequent expectations -- corporatist patterns, too (notably in social policy). It seems that corporatist governance still has a role to play, especially in the context of implementing and 'legitimising' the politics of the EMU.