Introduction: Studying Eurocracy as a Bureaucratic Field

Abstract

During the ‘empty chair crisis’ of the mid-1960s, Altiero Spinelli published an influential book entitled The Eurocrats (1966). In this book, Spinelli wanted to go beyond the psychological and geopolitical interpretations of the ‘empty chair crisis’ by opening the black box of European institutions and studying the ‘body of eurocrats’ and its activities (Spinelli, 1966, p. 25). The central idea was that focusing on eurocrats was a better means to understand the evolution of Europe than the various existing interpretations of the dynamics of European integration. He did so by looking at the relationships among the various institutional players by using an interesting and extensive definition of eurocrats: not only the permanent staff of the European Communities, but also permanent representatives of Member States, members of the European Parliament and members of interest groups.