Description

The volume provides the first comprehensive account of the European Commission under its first female president, Ursula von der Leyen (2019-2024). Amid unprecedented crises, von der Leyen pressed forward with an exceptionally ambitious political agenda, simultaneously pushing European integration into new territory and demanding a new European vision for "A Union of Equality." Applying a gender approach, this book systematically examines von der Leyen's ascendance to and exercise of political leadership in the European Union, the Commission's substantive agenda-setting and policy-making, its responses to the various European crises, and its impact on European governance. The volume provides a new conceptual framework, "critical actorness", capturing both continuities and changes in individual agency and structural processes at the European level from a gender perspective. It encompasses detailed single and comparative analyses, providing an in-depth examination of both von der Leyen and the Commission's multifaceted policy-making, intra- and inter-institutional relations, and crisis management. The volume demonstrates that while von der Leyen and her Commission provided proactive leadership in face of imminent crises, their performance was less effective in addressing long-term issues, particularly gender equality, and LGBTIQ and minority rights. Integrating gender, leadership, structures, policies, and crises, the volume facilitates a deep understanding of the role and significance of the von der Leyen Commission in the evolution of European integration and the process of European governance.