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Abstract
A virulent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease killed thousands of individuals between December 2013 and June 2016. The risk of contagion among European Union (EU) citizens increased its salience to unprecedented levels for an outbreak that primarily affected sub-Saharan Africa. Considering the need for analyzing recent external transboundary outbreak responses in the post-COVID-19 era, this paper explains the involvement of the EU in the Ebola outbreak. By combining descriptive social network analysis with fourteen semi-structured interviews, it provides original insights into European politics and crisis management scholarship. The findings partially support theoretical expectations regarding the relevance of postcolonial ties and institutional frameworks in the reaction. It also suggests that neorealist literature fails to capture its full complexity. Hence, institutional deficiencies explain the low centrality and flawed coordination among EU actors in the response. Additionally, postcolonial ties with the affected countries facilitated the involvement of Western governments in the reaction. However, not all former colonial powers were equally involved in the response. Finally, countries that registered infections did not necessarily play central roles in this effort. These findings have broader implications for the involvement of the EU in future external outbreaks, including the need for establishing clearer and explicit allocations of competences.

AbstractThis article examines the European Union (EU) involvement and co‐ordination of a humanitarian emergency response overseas. In particular, this article will examine the reaction to Cyclones Idai and Kenneth. By combining an exponential random graph model (ERGM) with semi‐structured interviews, this article will also apply resource dependence theory in order to identify actor characteristics that conditioned exchanges within the network that responded to this incident. Hence, it provides novel empirical evidence regarding de facto responses to humanitarian emergencies that increases understanding of social dynamics among the actors involved in these efforts. The findings of this study show that the co‐ordination of the EU response generally followed a multilateral logic. However, the limited empowerment of the local community throughout the response was less consistent with the strategic aspirations of the EU. For their part, donors tended to show less activity within the network than financial aid recipients.

AbstractThis paper discusses the intricacies of external transboundary crises, namely those cross‐border threats whose management requires coordination among EU and non‐EU countries. Specifically, it explores the extent to which European integration theories shed light on the coordination of external transboundary crisis responses by assessing the weight and role of the actor constellations involved in the civil aviation response to the 2010 Icelandic ash cloud crisis. The use of social network analysis as a methodological tool generates novel empirical evidence on the configuration of crisis management structures. The analysis shows that many EU Member States led decision‐making, whereas supranational organizations were instrumental in the coordination of the ash cloud crisis response. The centrality of these bodies contrasts with the peripheral position of most interest groups. This paper also suggests that external transboundary crises present complex management dynamics that distinguish them from generic transboundary threats. For example, the response to the ash cloud crisis was not commanded by the European Economic Area/European Free Trade Association countries where its epicentre was located. The empirical analysis was based on information extracted from a survey to experts involved in the management of this episode, as well as from ten semi‐structured elite interviews.

Abstract
Background
Designed to set limits to air pollutant emissions, EU Directive 2008/50/EG has pushed city administrations to strengthen their commitment to environmental protection with mixed results. However, the effectiveness of these policies remains suboptimal. Within this context, this paper provides original empirical evidence on the nature and evolution of the debate over air pollution in the EU that helps readers understand how the interplay among discourse coalitions across levels of governance relates to the implementation of air pollution directives in Europe. To provide this evidence, we apply the discourse-coalition framework to a multi-level governance context by comparing debates over air pollution and examining their evolution in different contexts through the use of discourse network analysis.

Results
Our results show that the debate in the EU institutions is largely dominated by pro-environmental coalitions, whereas discussions in Stuttgart and Berlin show different degrees of permeability to such arguments. Hence, the relative prominence of certain actors and levels of governance in the local discourse helps explain the extent to which debates at the local level align with the arguments put forward by the EU institutions. For their part, governmental organizations have a tendency to act as bridges between discourse coalitions.

Conclusions
This novel empirical evidence provides clues that help make sense of the varying levels of implementation of EU air pollution directives at the local level. In this regard, the ability of supranational and national bodies to align their discourse with those of local organizations might facilitate a common understanding and the successful implementation of EU policies. Policymakers aiming to improve air quality at the local level may want to consider engaging actively with this debate by reinforcing the arguments of pro-environmental coalitions. They may also want to make a special effort to ensure that the messages conveyed to supranational and national bodies are also effectively conveyed to lower levels of governance.

This article provides, through the lens of the theory of representative bureaucracy, a detailed and systematic assessment of diversity regarding gender, nationality, educational qualifications and professional background among the individuals serving in the management boards and scientific committees of European Union agencies (EAs). Drawing on a novel dataset of 508 members, our findings show that these decision-making bodies are generally composed of male experts, and that their inclusiveness of nationalities seems to be related to their formal institutional design. We also find that experts generally have extensive scientific training, even in those agencies that include national representation. This finding provides tentative support for the idea that representative bureaucracies can have a high degree of specialization. Our results also demonstrate that while EAs seem to be open to experts who have worked in the private sector, these bodies show a limited inclusiveness towards individuals with experience in civil society organizations. ; This research benefited from a Jose Castillejo Mobility Grant awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports to conduct research at the Copenhagen Business School.