Introduction

Abstract

In a world characterized by economic regionalism, the interdependencies of polities, and the hybridization of specialized policy communities, both governmental and nongovernmental actors (NGOs) have come to terms with new constellations of power that do not necessarily emanate and fade within the traditional borders of the nation-state. The European Union (EU) presents us with an unprecedented and striking case involving the blurring of the demarcating line between domestic and external affairs, which eventually is constructing a continental political platform, causing spillover effects over national polities. Today, interest groups and governments alike have to operate not only within the well-known parameters of their endogenous political environments, crystallized with deeply embedded traditions of governance, but they also have to take into account the new stimuli resulting from the European institutional framework, which is always in a state of flux (Kohler-Koch and Eising 2002).