9    Towards a European polity?

Europe meets the world

It is now common to encounter the idea that the EU represents some form of polity: a Euro-polity, a multi-level polity, a post-national polity, a network polity, to name but a few variations upon this theme. Of late, the assumption that the EU is engaged in polity-building has eclipsed the idea that the European Union represents some kind of super-state (although see Haseler, 2004). Not surprisingly, understanding the nature of this putative Euro-polity is a theme of growing importance within EU studies, particularly so as it dovetails with other developments of note: the preference for governance as a designation for the way the EU coordinates state and non-state actors; the normative value ...

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