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Acknowledgments This book calls on my two decades of experiences as a unionist, political science student, and labor relations lecturer in Zurich, Berlin, Paris, Brussels , Florence, and Dublin. I cannot list here the names of the unionists, works councilors, colleagues, and friends who supported my research with their experiences and ideas, not to mention practical assistance. Nevertheless , they should all know that I am very grateful for their help. I also thank those who commented on my work when I presented parts of it at seminars and conferences. I am particularly grateful to Colin Crouch and Philippe Schmitter for the encouragement and advice that they provided from the very beginning of this study and to Stefano Bartolini , Hans Baumann, John Benson, John Geary, Corinne Gobin, Andi Gross, Richard Hyman, Maarten Keune, Heinz Kleger, Evelyne Léonard, Paul Marginson, Guglielmo Meardi, Oscar Molina, Udo Rehfeldt, Bill Roche, Stijn Smismans, Sabina Stan, Franz Traxler, Ulrich K. Preuss, and Valeria Pulignano for many valuable suggestions. I also thank John Kelly, Nathan Lillie, and Andrew Martin for their very helpful feedback on a preliminary draft of this book and Catherine O’Dea and Julie F. Nemer for helping me prepare the manuscript for publication. Finally, I acknowledge the institutions that provided financial support throughout the course of my research, namely, the European University Institute in Florence, the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and the Social Sciences, the Swiss National Science Foundation, and University College Dublin. [ix] This page intentionally left blank. ...

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