ABSTRACT
Despite much effort uncovering the wheels and cogs of European integration, the scholarly debate has largely been trapped in a neo-functionalist versus intergovernmentalist dichotomy. The 1990s, however, witnessed a theoretical turn in the study of European integration towards less focus on either/or ‘unifying story-lines’ and more in the direction of both/and middle-range theories (Geyer 2003). This theoretical move partially reflects a more general ‘institutionalist turn’ in the study of public administration and European integration (Jupille and Caporaso 1999; March and Olsen 1998). This chapter suggests an institutional middle-range approach that makes conditional assessments of the transformative potential of the parallel administration of the European Commission. The goal is to outline a research agenda for future empirical studies of the political dynamics of system transformation in Europe.
