The European Union: an evolving system of multi-level governance ... or government?

The majority of European scholars accept that the European Union (EU) operates at several different administrative levels and exhibits some features of 'governance'. However, they disagree, often fundamentally, about the precise relationships between activities at different levels. This article critically examines the popular claim that the EU has evolved into a system of multi-level governance as opposed to state-led government. The 'governance turn' that has swept through European studies in the last 10 years has opened up substantial new avenues of inquiry as analysts have begun comparing the policy dynamics within and between sectors and/or levels of the EU. However, it remains unclear whether multi-level governance is a general feature of the EU or a phenomenon confined to particular sectors and/or levels.