National unionism and union democracy in crisis

Gumbrell-McGormick and Hyman's "Trade Unions in Western Europe" is not a textbook about national industrial relations systems, but a research monograph about the ‘hard choices’ European unions face. The authors identify the challenges that unions face in these times of crisis and then review the responses of national unions and their leaders across Western Europe. This article discusses the methodological implications of adopting a varieties of capitalism research design in an increasingly transnational world.