All aboard: power, participation and governance in the North Sea regional advisory council

This paper explores and reveals some hitherto concealed powers relations in the European Union's new political-economic governance procedures. It does this through an empirical investigation of the fisheries stakeholder forum, the North Sea Regional Advisory Council. It shows that although governance arrangements are now designed to be more inclusive than they were before the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) reforms, they do still involve exclusions, and uneven power relations that are not always readily apparent. The paper is based on research carried out by the author, comprising a case study of the CFP governance reforms. The research includes analysis of EU policy documents, press reports and websites and over 50 interviews with key players in North Sea fisheries governanc