European Integration from the 1980s: State‐Centric v. Multi‐level Governance*

Abstract This article takes initial steps in evaluating contending models of EU governance. We argue that the sovereignty of individual states is diluted in the European arena by collective decision‐making and by supranational institutions. In addition, European states are losing their grip on the mediation of domestic interest representation in international relations. We make this argument along two tracks. First, we analyse the conditions under which central state executives may lose their grip on power. Next, we divide up the policy process into stages and specify which institutional rules may induce various actors to deepen EU policy‐making.