Stefano Bartolini

Honorable Mention

Stefano Bartolini, Restructuring Europe. Centre Formation, System Building, and Political Structuring between the Nation State and the European Union, Oxford University Press 2005

Restructuring Europe is a landmark contribution to the theory of European integration. Starting from the Hirschman-Rokkan model of boundary formation and political structuring in the modern nation-state, Bartolini theorizes European integration as the formation of a new center, which partially redraws the boundaries of the nation-state and thereby creates new (partial) exit options for societal and political actors. Bartolini provides a lucid and convincing analysis of the effects that the imbalance and partiality of the political restructuring of Europe has on actor strategies and behaviors, political cleavages and collective action problems as well as the sustainability of the democratic welfare state and European integration. Although Restructuring Europe is not based on primary research, Bartolini is able to integrate a vast body of research and knowledge into his framework and to put it in the wider perspective of historical political sociology. In the opinion of the committee, the book will make a strong impact on the way we think about European integration and provide a fruitful avenue for further research.