The Joint European Torus: an historical case study in European Public Policy

Abstract

The steady integration of the European Union over many years has involved the formulation and implementation of many policies. One of the results has been the establishment of new legal and institutional structures in public administration of a supranational nature. Issues of structure are combined with those of efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. This article explores one small policy field, nuclear fusion technology research in the form of the Joint European Torus project, in order to assess some of the developments in the field and to try to understand ways in which they may be fruitfully analysed. It concludes with the contention that the success of the JET project suggests one way in which highly technical and costly projects may be structured and that in order to properly analyse and criticise the democratic deficit inherent to such policies it is necessary to adopt aflexible multi-theoretical approach.