Abstract
During the ‘empty chair crisis’ of the mid-1960s, Altiero Spinelli published an influential book entitled The Eurocrats (1966). In this book, Spinelli wanted to go beyond the psychological and geopolitical interpretations of the ‘empty chair crisis’ by opening the black box of European institutions and studying the ‘body of eurocrats’ and its activities (Spinelli, 1966, p. 25). The central idea was that focusing on eurocrats was a better means to understand the evolution of Europe than the various existing interpretations of the dynamics of European integration. He did so by looking at the relationships among the various institutional players by using an interesting and extensive definition of eurocrats: not only the permanent staff of the European Communities, but also permanent representatives of Member States, members of the European Parliament and members of interest groups.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2013 Didier Georgakakis and Jay Rowell
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Georgakakis, D., Rowell, J. (2013). Introduction: Studying Eurocracy as a Bureaucratic Field. In: Georgakakis, D., Rowell, J. (eds) The Field of Eurocracy. European Administrative Governance Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137294708_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137294708_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-45156-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-29470-8
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)