Governmental Blame Avoidance in the European Union

Abstract

Abstract The governments of European member states are increasingly under pressure when they adopt and articulate their policy positions on European issues. This chapter contributes to our understanding of governments’ strategic behaviour in a politicized European Union (EU) under stress by adapting the concept of blame avoidance to the accountability context of the EU. The chapter categorizes, describes, and illustrates the considerable variety of blame-avoidance strategies that member state governments can apply in order to avoid reputational damage for policy positions that comply with supra-national constraints but are unpopular with voters. The chapter also provides a basis for future research that would be able to establish the extent and consequences of governmental blame avoidance across European member states. Progress in this research programme promises a better understanding of how member state governments nurture democratic disaffection and EU scepticism among European citizens.