Dear colleagues Kent Weaver, Tiziano Zgaga and I are thrilled to share our book "Policy Dynamics in the European Union", now published open access with Cambridge University Press’ Elements in European Politics series: <https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009410274> https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009410274. Whether EU member states adopt similar or divergent policies shapes whether the EU delivers on its core promises—from fair competition in the single market to coordinated responses to climate change, migration, and financial crises. So, why do we (not) see similar solutions to shared problems? The policy dynamics framework, developed from Kent Weaver’s award-winning work on federal systems ( <https://doi.org/10.1093/publius/pjaa003> https://doi.org/10.1093/publius/pjaa003), addresses this crucial question. The framework integrates Europeanization research, integration theory, and federalism into a single framework mapping nine ideal-type dynamics onto a shared analytical vocabulary: actors, mechanisms, scope conditions, and convergence outcomes. Analytically, we model each dynamic as a causal process linking actor constellations and strategic investments to outcomes, with scope and mediating conditions shaping whether dynamics operate strongly or weakly, accounting for causal heterogeneity. The framework generates testable hypotheses about when dynamics emerge, strengthen, weaken, or shift. We distinguish between dynamics requiring EU involvement—harmonization, creeping competences, the joint decision trap, failing forward, noncompliance, differentiation—and those that operate without coercion: diffusion, race to the bottom, and mutual recognition. Case studies of EU fiscal governance and tobacco control show when which dynamics dominate, why they persist, and how they change. We hope the book contributes to better, more cumulative theorizing, explanation, and teaching. Best wishes Eva Thomann, Kent Weaver and Tiziano Zgaga Eva Thomann | Department of Politics and Public Administration | University of Konstanz| E-Mail: <mailto:eva.thomann@uni-konstanz.de> eva.thomann@uni-konstanz.de | <https://www.polver.uni-konstanz.de/thomann/> https://www.polver.uni-konstanz.de/thomann/ Academic convenor, <https://afww.uni-konstanz.de/en/komex/konstanz-methods-excellence-workshops > Konstanz Methods Excellence Workshops New books: Thomann, E, Weaver, R.K. and T. Zgaga. 2026. Policy Dynamics in the European Union. Cambridge University Press. <https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009410274> Available open access. New publications: Gomez-Diaz, J., Thomann, E. Manatschal, A. and X. Fernandez i Marin. 2026. Identity- versus effort-based bureaucratic discrimination among mobile European Union citizens: Evidence from conjoint experiments. <https://doi.org/10.1177/14651165261423087> European Union Politics, DOI: 10.1177/14651165261423087. Raaphorst, N., Lotta, G., Lavee, E., Espinoza, I., Thomann, E., Eckhard, S., Masood, A., Dissanayake, V. Headley, A.M. and J.P. Mogens. 2026. Equity and equality in street-level public service delivery. <https://academic.oup.com/ppmg/article/9/1/7/8322472> Perspectives on Public Management and Governance 9(1): 7–19 . Thomann, E., Mastrodascio, M. and D. Cepiku. 2026, forthcoming. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in Public Administration. In Thiel, S. (Ed). Elgar Encyclopedia Of Research Methods In Public Administration. Edward Elgar publishing. Thomann, E. 2025. Explaining regulatory intermediaries’ compliance through the Accountability Regimes Framework. <https://doi.org/10.1093/polsoc/puaf029> Policy & Society, DOI 10.1093/polsoc/puaf029. Thomann, E., James, O. and T. Deruelle. 2025. Interventions to Reduce Bureaucratic Discrimination: a Systematic Review of Empirical Behavioural Research. <https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2322163> Public Management Review <https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2322163> 27(8): 1959-1986. Zgaga, T. and E. Thomann. 2025. Understanding literal compliance in the European Union’s multilevel fiscal governance. Regulation & Governance, <http://doi.org/10.1111/rego.70025> http://doi.org/10.1111/rego.70025. Thomann, E., Ioannidis, G., Zgaga, T. and F. Schwarz. 2025. Explaining Public Sector Corruption: The Hexagon Model. <https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.70000> Governance <https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.70000> 38(2): 1-18. Thomann, E. 2025. Europeanization. In: Daniel Stockemer, Stephen W. Sawyer and Audrey Gagnon (Eds). IPSA Companion to Political Science. Springer. <https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-3-032-06918-4_63-1> DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-06918-4_63-1. Thomann, E. and J.Ege. 2025. Estudiando la implementación en el nivel de la calle por medio del marco del régimen de rendición de cuentas. In Mauricio I. Dussauge Laguna & Alberto Casas Benítez (eds.). <https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.31761188> Debates emergentes sobre administración y políticas públicas. Flacso México, 167-188. Zgaga, T., Ioannidis, G. and E. Thomann. 2025. Mixed Methods. In Meyer, O. and S. Wolf (Eds.) <https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-3-658-42592-0_27-1> Handbuch Korruptionsforschung. Springer VS.