The European Union is now a key player in making lifelong learning and adult education policy: this is the first book to explore a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives researchers can use to investigate its role. Chapters by leading experts and younger scholars from across Europe and beyond cover the evolution of EU policies, the role of policy 'actors' in what is often seen as the 'black box' of EU policy-making, and the contribution state theory can make to understanding the EU and its relations with Europe's nations. They consider what theories of governmentality - drawing on the work of Foucault - can contribute. And they demonstrate how particular methodological approaches, such as 'policy trails', and the contribution the sociology of law, can make. Contributors include both specialists in adult education and scholars exploring how work from other disciplines can contribute to this fi eld. This is the fi rst book in a new series from the European Society for...