This book presents case studies of recent and often spectacular failures of policy including the BSE crisis, the 'Arms to Iraq' affair, the German currency union, and asks what is meant by policy 'disaster'.

Part 1 Introduction; Chapter 1 Policy Disasters in Europe, Pat Gray; Part 2 The Core Functions of the State; Chapter 2 The Disastrous Justice System in Belgium, Lode Van Outrive; Chapter 3 The Mass Media and Policy Disasters, Mark Bovens, Paul't Hart, Sander Dekker, Gerdien Verheuvel, Eline de Vries; Part 3 The 'Welfare' State; Chapter 4 The BSE Crisis, Rob Baggott; Chapter 5 Italian Public Policy and the Southern Question, Robert Sykes; Chapter 6 An Unavoidable Disaster? The German Currency Union of 1990, Wolfgang Seibel; Part 4 The State in its International Context; Chapter 7 'errors of an Administrative Nature'?, Pat Gray; Chapter 8 In Defence of the Swedish Crown, Eric Stern, Bengt Sundelius; Part 5 The European Union Level; Chapter 9 The Common Fisheries Policy, Ella Ritchie, Anthony Zito; Chapter 10 The Change of a Lifetime?, Joanne van Selm-Thorburn, Bertjan Verbeek; Part 6 Conclusions; Chapter 11 Explaining Policy Disasters in Europe, Mark Bovens, Paul't Hart, B.Guy Peters;