In this analytical chapter, political scientist Karl Magnus Johansson evaluates the European People’s Party’s (EPP’s) capacity to shape European integration through treaty reform and political coordination. Drawing on three decades of research and case studies, he argues that Europarties such as the EPP can exert real influence—but only under demanding conditions: numerical strength, internal cohesion and the ability to mobilise networks of party leaders. Johansson traces how the EPP played a decisive role in the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty but struggled during the Amsterdam Treaty negotiations due to internal divisions and weakened Council presence. He concludes that while the EPP has shaped the EU’s constitutional architecture, its effectiveness depends on unity, strategic mobilisation and clarity of purpose—lessons that remain vital as the party navigates today’s fragmented landscape.

The Conference on the Future of Europe brought together politicians and citizens across the European Union (EU) to discuss the future of integration. While designed as a bottom-up forum for listening to citizens, it offered an opportunity for the EU institutions and particularly the Europarties to advance their own objectives. The Conference remained in the shadow of COVID and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The approach of member states and national parties towards it was rather lukewarm, media coverage was sparse, and its long-term impact is uncertain. Yet the Conference engaged with a large range of Europeans and illustrated the potential benefits of EU-wide deliberative democracy, although critical voices pointed out that its agenda was dominated by actors already supportive of further integration.

This paper examines the impact of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy (FFP), adopted in 2014, on its foreign ministry. The policy has been studied extensively but almost exclusively as part of diplomatic practice; this study expands the perspective by adding analytical and political dimensions relating to the ministry at home. The policy had political origins and, the paper argues, was maintained and instrumentalized as a lever to bring about internal change within the ministry. The policy was under political ownership and policy coordinators were under political patronage. FFP had institutional consequences for the ministry. It promoted more horizontal coordination and stronger functional and organizational synergies, not only between policy areas but also between staff categories. This meant that the work culture and how the ministry works changed. The study, which combines primary and secondary material, offers further insights into Sweden’s FFP, but also into what happens within a foreign ministry. Overall, the paper provides lessons about how foreign policy can be understood as co-constructed by civil servants/diplomats and political appointees – including ministers and their political advisers. 

This chapter examines the Europarty manifestos for the 2024 European Parliament elections and asks what these platforms reveal about the EU and about Europarties themselves. The chapter pays particular attention to positions on the institutional development of the Union. The focus is on the three largest Europarties, the European People’s Party, the Party of European Socialists, and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, but the analysis includes the full range of Europarties. A common impression from the manifesto analysis is that policy issues receive much more attention than institutional issues. It also finds that the manifestos of EPP and PES contain few concrete reform proposals about EU governance, which may reflect internal divisions. Among the other Europarties, the European Green Party stands out with its explicitly federalist manifesto. On the whole, the left-leaning Europarties tend to be more in favour of supranational reforms. But, overall, the main Europarties remain committed to the cause of further integration.

Dieses Kapitel untersucht die Wahlprogramme der Europarteien für die Europawahl 2024 und stellt die Frage, was diese Programme über die EU und die Europarteien selbst aussagen. Besonderes Augenmerk wird dabei auf die Positionen zur institutionellen Entwicklung der Union gelegt. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf den drei größten Europarteien, der Europäischen Volkspartei, der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Europas und der Allianz der Liberalen und Demokraten für Europa, aber die Analyse umfasst das gesamte Spektrum der Europarteien. Allgemein zeigt die Analyse der Wahlprogramme, dass politischen Fragen viel mehr Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt wird als institutionellen Fragen. Außerdem ist festzustellen, dass die Manifeste von EVP und SPE kaum konkrete Reformvorschläge zur EU-Governance enthalten, was möglicherweise auf interne Spaltungen zurückzuführen ist. Unter den anderen Europarteien sticht die Europäische Grüne Partei mit ihrem ausdrücklich föderalistischen Manifest hervor. Insgesamt ist die Unterstützung für supranationale Reformen unter den linksgerichteten Europarteien stärker ausgeprägt. Im Großen und Ganzen sind jedoch alle großen Europarteien weiterhin der Sache der weiteren Integration verpflichtet.

Social media is transforming how political power is exercised through communication, functioning both as a critical resource and as a catalyst for institutional adaptation in executive government. This article examines how social media is integrated into government communication, distinguishing between two dimensions: structure and process. Drawing on a literature review and a case study of Sweden—based on interviews with government press secretaries/media advisers and analysis of official documents—we develop a theoretical logic in which resources act as a causal mechanism driving the normalization of social media. We conceptualize this process as operating through two pathways: adaptation to new communicative requirements and the combination of different media, here termed strategic complementarity. The findings show that social media has become an embedded element of government communication, steadily reshaping routines, professional roles, and the balance between traditional and digital channels. This study contributes to understanding how governments manage hybrid media environments and highlights the underexplored role of social media as a potential driver of power redistribution.

For decades, major Europarties like the EPP, PES, and ALDE have advocated increased EU integration, pushing for democratic and institutional strengthening. However, this paper, which features analysis of their 2024 election manifestos, reveals few concrete governance reform proposals. This may well indicate internal divisions. The Greens, though, standout with their federalist agenda. The paper explores factors influencing Europarties' stances and questions the commitment of national member parties. When national and EU-level campaigns diverge, it weakens Europarties' cohesion and influence.

Although policy advisers have been amply studied, far fewer studies have examined media advisers. And, so far, adviser research has offered few insights into the relationship between these two key groups of political staffers. This article claims that media advisers have been empowered. It offers a rational functionalist explanation, which emphasises concerns about functional efficiency. Media generates functional pressures for the institutional strengthening of media advisers, solidifying their role. This argument is examined empirically through a case study of ministerial media adviser (MMA) empowerment in Sweden, based on interviews conducted among MMAs and political journalists. The data tell us that MMAs are on the rise, that they have become more controlling toward journalists and more assertive within ministerial staff. In the process, MMAs have come to constitute a category of their own as they have converged among themselves but diverged from policy advisers. The interview evidence indicates that MMAs also have a role in government policy, as the media has contributed to more integration of communication and policy, but additional research is needed. Overall, this work has implications for research on political communication, executives, and advisers—especially for debates about political professionals in government.