'This is an important book for those interested in the political economy of southern Europe and Europeanization. Zartaloudis' expert analysis of employment policies in Greece and Portugal reaches beyond the narrow confines of the two countries and his insights are particularly valuable in the context of the ongoing Eurozone crisis and the questions around Europe's ability to forge a common ... Read morepath for its diverse member states.' - Professor Dimitris Papadimitriou, Director of the Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (JMCE), Politics, University of Manchester, UK 'The role of "soft" policy coordination within the EU has been hotly debated. Through a rigorous comparative study, Zartaloudis confirms that "soft" external power is wielded, in a rather unexpected fashion, in two unlikely cases. This is a thought-provoking book for anyone interested in the EU, the South European social model, and policy-change mechanisms.' - Yannis Papadopoulos, Professor of Public Policy, University of Lausanne, Switzerland 'For scholars of Europeanization, the recent years of economic and political crisis have generated a whole new set of research questions about inertia and change. Is the European Union using the right mechanisms to stimulate policy reforms? Can conditionality produce more than short-term adaptation? How do domestic actors use Europe, and do the domestic usages of Europe lead to change or subterfuge? Zartaloudis addresses all the puzzles and research questions that the 'the crisis' made so vivid. He provides a great example of Europeanization 2.0 and offers fundamental insights on how the European Union works.' - Claudio Radaelli, Professor of Political Science, Jean Monnet Chair in European Public Policy, Director, Centre for European Governance, University of Exeter, UK Show Less