1. The Politics of Governance Architectures: Creation, Change and Effects of the EU Lisbon Strategy Susana Borrás and Claudio M. Radaelli 2. Principal–Agent Theory and the Open Method of Co-ordination: The Case of the European Employment Strategy Caroline de la Porte 3. From Harmonization to Co-ordination? EU Law in the Lisbon Governance Architecture Stijn Smismans 4. The Lisbon Strategy’s Empowerment of Core Executives: Centralizing and Politicizing EU National Co-ordination Susana Borrás and B. Guy Peters 5. The Europeanization of Flexicurity: The Lisbon Strategy’s Impact on Employment Policies in Italy and Poland Anna Gwiazda 6. The Lisbon Strategy and the Politicization of EU Policy-Making: The Case of the Services Directive Jeff Loder 7. From Bologna to Lisbon: The Political Uses of the Lisbon ‘Script’ in European Higher Education Policy Giliberto Capano and Simona Piatton