Laurie Boussaguet

The ‘Governance Turn’ Revisited

Since the mid 1990s, European governance has evolved substantially, particularly in the direction of fewer constraints: flexibility, coordination, peer monitoring, and soft law have become fashionable themes. The literature on ‘new modes of governance’ (or NMGs) has flourished alongside these transformations.1 Some authors have referred to a ‘governance turn’ in European studies (Kohler-Koch and Rittberger 2006). The analysis of the nature, significance and impact of this ‘new’ governance has indeed created a scholarly movement in its own right (with its ‘stars’, a specific language, quasi-specialised reviews, a multiplication of large-scale research programs, etc.). NMGs are defined, more or less implicitly, in opposition to the Community method. Despite occasional doubts regarding their legitimacy (Georgakakis and de la Salle 2007) or their effectiveness (Idema and Kelemen 2006), they tend to be viewed as increasingly important in EU policy-making.