European Civil Service in (Times of) Crisis: A Political Sociology of the Changing Power of Eurocrat

Introduction: Moving pictures.- 1. A contested identity: genesis of the Eurocrat figure: between stigma and affirmation of a differentiated supranational body.- 2. The making of a status group: Reconsidering socialization to the European Institutions .- 3. Genesis and structure of European bureaucratic capital: Senior European Commission officials.- 4. Soft skills versus expertise and knowledge: The changing core competencies of European civil servants.- 5. Reforming EU open competitions or how the 'Custodians of Europe' are now imitating undifferentiated international managers.- 6. How domination matters: New internal struggles and integrating European-enlargement newcomers.- 7. Both the pilot and a victim of austerity? How the European Commission's administration changed under the economic and financial crisis.-Conclusion: Neoliberalized neoliberalists? The weakening sociological foundations of a pivot group and European political order.