New Governance and the Transformation of European Law: The Case of the Open Method Coordination for Social Inclusion

From initially defining new governance processes as external, or opposed to, 'traditional' forms of EU law, a number of academic scholars have begun to argue that processes like the OMC can be seen as indicative of a broader 'transformation' of European law-making. The transformation thesis relies on seeing the OMC as an evolving legal mechanism; one where features such as cognitive openness, peer review, and the participation of new constitutional actors, can either work in tandem with, or begin to take the place of, traditional Community rules. Applying this transformative view to the practice of a particular OMC process (the OMC SPSI), this paper will argue that while 'transformation' may yet stand as an important guiding ideal for the development of European law in many policy fields, its dominant features remain significantly under-developed. The OMC - rather than create a more participatory and accountable form of law-making - illustrates some of 'transformation's' foundational inner tensions