The Process of Politics in Europe: The Rise of European Elites and Supranational Institutions

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With the launch of the European integration process after World War II, a new type of administration emerged which was neither an international organisation nor a national administration. Drawing on extensive archival records and oral history interviews, this book is the first comprehensive study of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC), and their personnel, the European civil servants. This administrative elite was to have a vital influence on the European integration process, devising and administering key European policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy. Katja Seidel combines administrative and biographical history and provides significant insights into the origins of Europe's supranational institutions and the administrative cultures that developed in them. She effectively shows how European administrative elites and supranational administrations are vital to understanding the process of politics in Europe. This book will be invaluable for scholars of politics, history and the development of European integration.

Reviews

'Katja Seidel's book will be the first study of the supranational institutions in action in the formative years of the present-day European Union. - it will be of interest also to current and former 'Eurocrats', as it includes substantial evidence from private papers and interviews about 'culture clashes' and social life in Brussels, for example, obviously contextualized and interpreted appropriately for the purposes of academic analysis, but still making for an interesting read for non-specialists.' - Wolfram Kaiser, Professor of European Studies, University of Portsmouth and Visiting Professor, College of Europe, Bruges; 'A genuinely original and path-setting study, which should be of interest to both contemporary historians and political scientists. Seidel's approach, which focuses in on those men and women responsible for implementing the various European treaties, is entirely new and should constitute a very refreshing addition to the current literature. I would certainly recommend the book warmly to those in the field, both undergraduates and postgraduates.' - N. Piers Ludlow, Reader in International History, London School of Economics and Political Science

Author Bio

Katja Seidel is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the German Historical Institute in Paris. She holds a PhD in European History from the University of Portsmouth.