Conditional Leadership: The European Commission and European Regional Policy

Conditional Leadership investigates the European Commission's preferences and tactics in the development of regional policy in the European Union from its inception in 1975 to the most recent reform of 2006, concluding that the Commission has played a central role in designing the European Regional Development Fund and in continuing to shape a new Europe. Boyle argues that the Commission is an independent actor that has consistently utilized the tactics of agenda-setting, mediation, and mobilization of subnational and transnational actors to achieve increased control over a sizeable and focused common regional policy. Offering readers a specification of Commission tactics, a method for determining the influence of the commission, and an understanding of the conditions of Commission influence, Conditional Leadership is a brilliant achievement that will be of interest to scholars and policy-makers alike.