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The Juncker Commission as a Politicising Bricoleur and the Renewed Momentum in Social Europe

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  • Paul Copeland

Abstract

This article analyses the Juncker Commission's strategy to revitalize the legislative aspects of social Europe. Given the inherent obstacles to forging agreements in the field the Commission was required to operationalize a strategy of being a politicalising bricoleur: a bricoleur in the sense it revisited and revised existing tools with the aim of generating change and building an integration moment in social Europe; politicizing in the sense that the Commission exercised social acuity, built broad teams to mobilize for change, and deployed a distinctive discursive strategy. The analysis finds that the Commission had some success, but continued obstacles resulted in reforms being focused on revisions to relatively non‐contentious policies rather than new legislative agreements. The analysis draws attention to the creativity of Commission agency and the constraints within which it operates.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Copeland, 2022. "The Juncker Commission as a Politicising Bricoleur and the Renewed Momentum in Social Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(6), pages 1629-1644, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:60:y:2022:i:6:p:1629-1644
    DOI: 10.1111/jcms.13336
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Maarten Keune & Philippe Pochet, 2023. "The revival of Social Europe: is this time different?," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(2), pages 173-183, May.
    2. Paul Copeland, 2023. "Poverty and social exclusion in the EU: third-order priorities, hybrid governance and the future potential of the field," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 29(2), pages 219-233, May.

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