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AbstractEU studies extend into political science, political theory, public and foreign policy analysis, and international relations. The field's diversity speaks to different ontological, epistemological and methodological traditions and research practices. How the EU is conceived as a political reality and entity (ontology) tends to shape how researchers substantiate knowledge production about EU affairs (epistemology) and the way they uncover this knowledge (methodology), alongside choosing research methods and data. We argue that a 'directional dependency' exists between research ontology, epistemology, methodology and design. Using a meta‐analysis, we review EU politics research, mapping out directional dependencies in research design; how the paths operate; and deviations from those paths. We explore damaging effects of the research design process, evaluating how much this trap informs research in principle or in practice. We find that while in‐principle directional traps exist, research can be trapped to in‐practice dependencies, limiting the scope of innovation in the field.

Why do some policies adopted by a wide margin fail to be implemented? Highlighting the role of policy entrepreneurial strategies within the Multiple Streams Approach (MSA), we examine the implementation of Greek higher education reform in 2011 to argue that when policies adversely affect the status quo, successful entrepreneurial strategies of issue‐linkage and framing, side payments, and institutional rule manipulation are more likely to lead to implementation failure under conditions of crisis, centralized monopoly, and inconsistent political communication. The findings clarify MSA by specifying the conditions that increase the coupling strategies' chances of success or failure and illuminate the role ambiguity and conflict play in policy reform and implementation.

Why do national governments fail to implement deep reforms in light of strong international andEuropean pressures? Building on the top‐down implementation framework byMazmanian andSabatier, we argue that political trust underpins the government's implementation track record. We investigate this argument by looking at the failure of theGreek government to implement bailout reforms between 2010 and 2012 in two areas: tax and duty collection and liberalization of taxi licenses. Lower levels of trust decrease administrative capacity and widen problem intractability, creating a vicious cycle of noncooperation and economic recession. Our findings have policy implications for administrative reforms and offer amendments to theories of implementation and institutional rational choice.Related ArticlesButerbaugh,Kevin.1999. "."Politics & Policy27():129‐150.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.1999.tb00526.x/abstractMcGrath,Robert J.2009. "."Politics & Policy37():309‐336.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2009.00174.x/abstractCaillier,James.2010. "."Politics & Policy38():1015‐1035.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2010.00267.x/abstractRelated Media.2013. "."http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/assistance_eu_ms/greek_loan_facility/

A seminal text in European studies, which addresses issues of research design and causal analysis. The chapters draw on different methodological traditions, notions of causality, and methods and use strong research design to address substantive problems in public policy, party politics, foreign policy and legislative studies