Governance Theory and Practice: The Case of Europe

European political life involves a productive tension between liberalist and communitarian tendencies. This ‘Libero-Communitarianism’ in the EU is the backdrop to various governance policies and potentials. This chapter develops a broad analysis of the governance setting in Europe and draws out some key areas of potential problems. This is based in the Ethical Governance of Emerging Technologies (EGAIS) project findings, and mirrors some of the issues flagged as ethically important in the field of emerging technologies. That such issues permeate European research and approaches to governance is testimony to their centrality and to the influence of Libero-Communitarian interactions.