Understanding the European Union and its Political Power: The Contribution of European Studies to Adult Education Policy Research

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is frequently seen as an important actor shaping globalised education policy space but its complex architecture and policy-making processes carry a constant challenge to researchers. There is a growing tendency in the academic literature to avoid separating the national and the EU level of policy-making. The globalisation pressures and national interest advocated by each EU Member State are strongly mediated by specific ‘actorness’ of the EU: number and variety of actors involved in education policy-making and implementation. This chapter brings a political science perspective to help open a ‘black box’ of policy-making in the EU. It contextualises the inner-workin..