Only a few scholars have been able to assess how 'de facto independence' of regulatory agencies relates to their formal discretion. In this thought-provoking book, which is a must-read for students and researchers in regulation studies, Martino Maggetti shows in a highly innovative and rigorous way that 'de facto independence' of agencies is not even explained by their formal independence, but rather by their life-cycle and inclusion in networks. The book shows clearly how central IRA's are in policy making and how this is affected by this independence. The approach in this book is highly enlightening, theoretically, in terms of triangulation of data collection methods as well as by the use of comparative configurational methods. This book is nothing less but a major and crucial contribution to the field.--Koen Verhoest, Research Professor, Department of Politics, University of Antwerp
