Edward Elgar Publishing Parliamentary Cooperation and Diplomacy in EU External Relations: An Essential Companion (Leuven Global Governance series)

'In a period marked by nationalism and populism, the relevance of the roles played by parliaments is sometimes underestimated and rather deserves greater attention. The book edited by Raube, Wouters and Muftuler-Bac gathers a group of leading scholars in the field of parliamentary studies and contributes to bridge a gap in a very sensitive policy field, that is to say the external relations of the European Union. A wide list of approaches and theoretical and empirical investigations demonstrates that, despite the dominant influence of the executive branches of government, not only networking of parliaments has enlarged, but also traditional and innovative roles, i.e. control and conflict mediation, have been amplifled and diversified. Therefore, parliaments are far from being put aside.' - Daniela Irrera, EuropeNow This insightful companion examines the role of parliaments in the external relations of the EU, a relatively under-explored topic of research in an increasingly complex international relations environment. In fact, this volume challenges the dominant perspective, demonstrating the increased networking of parliaments both within the EU and with external actors, shedding light on the growing role of parliamentary scrutiny, control and conflict mediation. Providing a comparative overview of parliamentary action in EU external relations, this book considers both the conceptual basis of these actions and examines key case studies for empirical analysis. It situates the EU's internal and external dimension of parliamentary cooperation in a wider context, engaging in a debate that goes beyond the EU into relationships with neighbouring regions as well as parliamentary institutions from other areas of the globe. Advanced students and researchers of EU external relations and global governance will greatly benefit from reading this timely book. At the same time, international relations and political science scholars will also appreciate this thorough and comprehensive volume. Contributors include: M.A. Afke Groen, M.A.H.K. Belley, K. Biedenkopf, T. Christiansen, A. Cianciara, I. Cooper, R. Cutler, M.A.F. De Vrieze, S. Delputte, I. Demirsu, M.A.D. Fonck, J.E. Fossum, D. Fromage, M. Gianniou, M. Góra, M.A.C. Glahn, S. Gürkan, D. Jan i , T. Lenz, C. Lord, M. Müftüler-Baç, G.G. Müller, X. Nuttin, L. Oehman, D. Peters, M.A.I. Petrova, K. Raube, L. Redei, G. Rosén, Z. Selden, M.A. Shaohua Yan, S. Stavridis, A. von Lingen, W. Wagner, J. Wódka, J. Wouters Review 'If you believe that external relations constitutes the next frontier of democratic assertion in the EU; if you are a sceptic and ask what difference can parliaments at all levels make to the EU's external policy; if you are intrigued by the connection between transnational parliamentary cooperation within Europe and democratisation outside Europe; if you want to explore the many motivations, opportunities and paths for such developments under the Lisbon Treaty, and to do so in many disciplinary languages, this book is for you. An essential guide indeed.' --Kalypso Nicolaidis, University of Oxford, UK 'This volume provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the role of parliaments in EU external relations, one of the most topical issues in parliamentary studies and international relations today. Overall the chapters offer normatively and empirically well-informed contributions on parliamentary cooperation and diplomacy in a variety of international and regional settings and policy areas vis-à-vis the EU. The book is a must-read for scholars and professionals working at the intersection between EU law, international law, constitutional law and political science.' --Cristina Fasone, LUISS Guido Carli, Rome, Italy 'An impressive collection of chapters, gathering authors from all over Europe and beyond. All of them offer different perspectives on a phenomenon that has significantly developed during the last 30 years. The many ways