THE STUDY OF THE EUROPEAN-UNION II - THE NEW GOVERNANCE AGENDA AND ITS RIVAL

The article reviews the current study of the European Union (EU), wher e a new agenda is emerging under the umbrella oi 'new governance'. Des pite its eclecticism, this agenda argues that the EU is not a state, b ut is a unique system of nan-hierarchical, regulatory and deliberative governance. This agenda also conceptualizes the EU as sui generis, ex plains its development primarily by (new) institutional theory, and su ggests that legitimacy is guaranteed through transparent, pareto-effic ient and consensual outputs. Nevertheless, this agenda is open to crit icism on empirical, methodological, theoretical and normative levels. Such a dialectic suggests a new duality in the study of the EU: betwee n the new governance approach, and a less developed rival agenda, whic h treats EU politics and government as not inherently unique, compares the EU to other political systems, explains outcomes through rational strategic action, and suggests that legitimacy can be guaranteed thro ugh classic democratic competition over inputs.