Contested governance: The new repertoire of the Eurozone crisis

Abstract

The austerity policies that EU policymakers adopted in response to the Eurozone crisis are often criticized as the product of institutionalized neoliberal ideas. This critique has merits, but tends to overlook institutional changes that do not neatly conform to well demarcated neoliberal ideas considered as “switchmen,” “paradigms,” or “blueprints.” This article offers an alternative reading of the Eurozone's institutional evolution that bridges pragmatist scholarship with cognitive and social psychology. The Eurozone crisis saw the emergence of a new and contested repertoire of governance. Policymakers agreed that “stronger governance” was necessary, but they struggled over how to perform that repertoire. This contest ultimately produced institutional changes that typically mixed austerity and unconventional policies. The advantage of thinking about ideas in terms of repertoires that actors perform is to afford a more granular view of institutions as sites of individual cognition, collective innovation, and political contestation.

The Eurozone’s Evolving Fiscal Ecosystem: Mitigating Fiscal Discipline by Governing Through Off-Balance-Sheet Fiscal Agencies

“…In the wake of the Eurozone crisis, a new buzzword appeared in the discourse of European and national officials. Although long-debated within academic circles, the notion of 'governance' acquired a new function within the Eurozone policy realm, being adopted widely (and differently) as a discursive platform to legitimize and advance specific visions of Eurozone reform (Jabko 2019). Improving economic governance throughout the EU was seen as a sure-fire way to avoid political contention and mobilise the electorate.…”

Fatal remedies. How dealing with policy conflict can backfire in a context of trust‐erosion

“…Rich democracies also allow for policy conflicts on concrete policy programs and projects (Hajer, 2003;Keane, 2009;Mouffe, 2009). To deal with conflicts, policymakers draw on policy repertoires (Jabko, 2019). A policy repertoire contains ideas and practices that policymakers are familiar with, but due to contextual variation in specific policy cases, the repertoire will be performed differently (Della Porta, 2013;Jabko, 2019;McAdam et al, 2001;Tilly, 1978).…”

“…To deal with conflicts, policymakers draw on policy repertoires (Jabko, 2019). A policy repertoire contains ideas and practices that policymakers are familiar with, but due to contextual variation in specific policy cases, the repertoire will be performed differently (Della Porta, 2013;Jabko, 2019;McAdam et al, 2001;Tilly, 1978). Repertoires in policy have similar characteristics as repertoires in the performing arts (Della Porta, 2013;Jabko, 2019).…”

“…A policy repertoire contains ideas and practices that policymakers are familiar with, but due to contextual variation in specific policy cases, the repertoire will be performed differently (Della Porta, 2013;Jabko, 2019;McAdam et al, 2001;Tilly, 1978). Repertoires in policy have similar characteristics as repertoires in the performing arts (Della Porta, 2013;Jabko, 2019). Many orchestras can play Beethoven's 5th symphony, but every performance will differ depending on the dynamics between the players, the director, the venue, and the audience.…”

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“…When political leaders realized that the ‘invisible hand’ behind market integration created threatening imbalances rather than economic convergence, their take on EU governance shifted dramatically. Thus, the single‐market regime, which shaped the political strategy for uniting Europe since 1985 (Jabko 2006), was complemented by a new economic ‘governance’ regime (Erne 2015; Jabko 2019).…”