61 results
Search Results
2. Cohesion through Consumerism: The New European Social Model?
- Author
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Edquist, Kristin
- Subjects
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SOCIAL marginality , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *CONSUMERISM , *HEGEMONY , *POWER (Social sciences) , *INTERNATIONAL organization - Abstract
This paper conducts an initial exploration of the links between European Union (EU) social exclusion policy and economic integration. The paper outlines the historical development of the social exclusion concept, and locates the EU interpretation of social exclusion in that historical context. Understanding that the EU’s interpretation is a moving target, the paper nonetheless identifies current core principles of EU social exclusion policy, including in particular the exchange of best practice. Finally, the paper conducts a preliminary analysis of EU-sponsored projects that attempt to combat social exclusion. Based on this outline and analysis, the paper argues that while EU social exclusion policy involves a broad variety of non-state, state, and sub-state actors, those actors are encouraged to a narrowly delimited model of social inclusion, thereby discouraging some salient forms of social inclusion. In other words, the EU legitimizes a particular definition of inclusion amongst social actors. EU social exclusion policy therefore augurs a new dynamic of cultural hegemony: hegemony through regional economic integration. As such, the paper links to current discussion of transnational norms and their potential to influence, inspire, or reproduce domestic power dynamics. Yet the paper takes a critical stance toward such norms, for example by revealing that the principles anchoring EU social exclusion policy hold close affinities to corporate management principles of competitiveness. Thus, the paper questions the supposed limits of regional economic integration, and suggests that such integration involves a larger cultural and ideological project that produces hegemonic definitions of social practices. Of particular importance is EU encouragement of the culture-ideology of consumerism. At the same time, the EU-sponsored projects illustrate that the broad array of social actors implementing EU social exclusion policy have some agency relative to the Commission and other Brussels-based institutions. As a result, they possess some power to influence the cultural impact and ideological content of EU social exclusion policy and European integration more generally. While EU social exclusion policy encourages a culture-ideology of consumerism, the agents involved in policy implementation may stem this tide. Students of international organization(s) and of cultural politics can find dynamics of great interest in contemporary European societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
3. The Discursive Construction of Neoliberalism: The EU and the Contested Substance of European Economic Space.
- Author
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Rosamond, Ben
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *GLOBALIZATION , *NEOLIBERALISM , *ECONOMICS ,EUROPEAN economic integration - Abstract
This paper takes issue with the claim that European economic integration necessarily induces neoliberal outcomes. Using an approach that treats economic spaces as socio-discursive constructions, it shows that the character, meaning and personality of the âEuropean economyâ continue to be contested within the EU institutions and amongst the component member state political economies. Although the analysis suggests that there is considerable space for the articulation of alternative âsolidaristicâ, âsustainableâ and âmoralâ versions of the European economy within alternative conceptions of globalisation, the paper seeks to show how rationalities (technical and normative; internal and external) associated with neoliberal versions of Europe might become normalised and increasingly difficult to negotiate. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
4. Dynamic Changes in Comparative Advantages of the ASEAN+3: Specialization or Despecialization? Complement or Substitution?
- Author
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Widodo, Tri
- Subjects
- *
COMMERCIAL treaties , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration ,NORTH American Free Trade Agreement - Abstract
The establishments of regional trade agreements and regional economic integrations -such as the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR, Southern Common Market), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) - Free Trade Area (AFTA) - to some extent, have affected countries' dynamic comparative advantages and specialization. Whether there are systematic changes in the comparative advantage and specialization of trade in the East Asian economies has been a crucial issue for the future development of the East Asian economic integration. This paper aims to investigate the dynamic change in comparative advantages of the ASEAN, China, South Korea and Japan (abbreviated as ASEAN+3). Specifically, this paper is addressed to answer some questions. First, what sorts of exported products do the ASEAN+3 have comparative advantages? Second, how have comparative advantages of the ASEAN+3 shifted dynamically? Third, does the ASEAN's pattern of comparative advantages follow a sequence change in similar to that of Japan, China, and Korea? By applying statistical and econometric methods on Revealed Symmetric Comparative Index (RSCA), this paper concludes that there have been changes in the pattern of comparative advantage in the ASEAN, Japan, Korea and China. The increase in overall comparative advantage is encouraged by the higher increase in comparative advantage of products which had no or lower comparative advantage in the past. The comparative advantage pattern of the ASEAN is becoming similar with that of Japan. There is no long run equilibrium in the similarities of comparative advantage pattern between the ASEAN and Japan, the ASEAN and Korea, as well as the ASEAN and China. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
5. EU Governance After Lisbon: The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive(MiFID).
- Author
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Raviv, Or
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL competition , *INTERNATIONAL trade , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *FINANCIAL instruments , *FINANCIAL services industry - Abstract
On January 31st 2007, the national authorities in the EU 25 implemented the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). The directive forms a core element of the Lisbon agenda whose overall aim is strengthening European competitiveness by promoting internal competition. The directive is significant on two counts: First, MiFID represents a shift in the EU mode of governance towards a greater role of non-state actors. Secondly, MiFID signals a change in the EU governance strategy, privileging the integration of financial services as a prerequisite for realizing the full economic benefits of the single European market. This paper conceptualizes and examines MiFID both procedurally, and as a political market-making strategy. Informed by the growing body of interdisciplinary literature on private networks of authority in global governance networks, the paper focuses on the roles played by the European Securities Committee (ESC) and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR). Recognising the diversity of national financial regulatory environments and market practices within the EU, the paper integrates MiFID as a political market-making strategy, analyzing its potential implications on the future organization of the European financial market. The paper focuses on three representative cases: the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. While the outcomes of MiFID are still open-ended, MiFID's impact will inevitably spill-over into core areas of the European project. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
6. The Double Curse of Lacking Capacity. Evidence from an Instrumental Variable Approach to the Making and Taking of European Environmental Policies.
- Author
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Börzel, Tanja A. and Hofmann, Tobias
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *SUPRANATIONALISM , *ENVIRONMENTAL policy , *ECONOMETRICS - Abstract
In this paper, we integrate the literature that is concerned with how to conceptualize and explain the effect of member states on processes and outcomes of regional integration with the literature on the responses of member states to the impact of supranational processes and institutions. This is done by analyzing the role of the EU members as shapers and takers of European environmental policies. Thereby, we try to simultaneously answer the two following questions: (i) Why do some member states achieve a better European policy fit than others? (ii) Why do some members infringe (even) on (fitting) environmental policies more frequently than others? We argue that member states that are good shapers are also effective takers of supranational policies â" not only due to the better fit between obligations and domestic settings, but also because the factors that enable member states to shape environmental policies help them to ensure their effective implementation. In order to develop and test this argument, our paper proceeds in three steps. Drawing on the two-level games literature, the first part presents a theoretical framework that systematically links the making and taking stages of supranational policies. In the second part we employ econometric methods to assess the impact of several factors identified in the relevant literature against empirical evidence from the field of European environmental policy. The paper concludes with a discussion on the generalizability of our findings. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
7. The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) and Gender Mainstreaming: Implications for Governing Gender Equality in Germany.
- Author
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Wöhl, Stefanie
- Subjects
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GENDER , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *MONETARY unions , *ECONOMIC competition , *REGIONALISM - Abstract
Economic and monetary integration have been the main political and economic projects in the integration process of the European Union. Since 1997 the Treaty of Amsterdam explicitly considers gender policies in primary law and in the subsequent process of the Lisbon Strategy. Even though gender issues were considered in specific policy fields through directives in the 1980âs and 1990âs, a broader framework for gender equality has only been institutionalized in the EU through the implementation of gender mainstreaming and the introduction of the OMC to achieve the goals of the Lisbon Strategy: competitiveness, social cohesion and full employment. The instrument for achieving this in the member states especially in the welfare sectors of employment is the OMC. The paper seeks to show how this form of governance is a new rationality of power and technology of governance to harmonize European space. Using Foucaultâs concept of governmentality, the OMC can be described as a new rationality of government because it is not designed to conduct power from the supranational level in the usual way, but to regulate policy adjustment from a greater distance. This mode of governing is at the same time a weak mode of governance because it is not based on laws and contract but on mutual recognition and it offers framework guidelines rather than regulation by directives or uniform policies. By letting the member states design and regulate their resources in welfare policy fields by themselves and by setting up "good practices" and using political benchmarking, a constitutional asymmetry of competitiveness in favour of social cohesion is installed. This is especially the case in the employment sector in Germany, where an activating employment sector that is based on supply-related employment policies [Angebotspolitik] was created through the so called "Hartz-Reforms". These implications for gender equality in the employment sector will be discussed in the paper on the premise of the governmentality framework. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
8. Prosperity -- Equity -- Democracy: The Missing Link(s) in Europe.
- Author
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Freyberg-Inan, Annette
- Subjects
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ECONOMIC development , *DEMOCRACY , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration - Abstract
In the call for contributions to this conference the European Union (EU) was named as a singularly successful example of economic integration. There is little doubt it has been. Another widespread view (and indeed empirical correlation) links economic development with democratic governance. Thence the convenient expectation that by expanding east the new EU must be supporting the democratic consolidation of its formerly communist members. Unfortunately, this expectation is less than firmly based. This paper, first, makes the theoretically founded argument that the correlation between prosperity and democracy depends on a minimally equitable distribution of the created wealth. While this argument should not come as a surprise, the obstinacy with which its common sense is disregarded suggests that democracy, not to mention equity, are subordinate goals in this integration process. This paper, second, provides empirical support for this suggestion. First, a look at the EU's institutional structure and policy priorities reveals a clear imbalance in favor or the common market and in disfavor of a common fiscal and social policy as well as democratic accountability. While this imbalance is obvious to some, their attempts to rectify it are an uphill struggle. Second, a look at the EU's strategy vis-à-vis its candidate countries reveals a striking disregard for the socio-economic implications of transition and for EU-fostered technocratic threats to democratic consolidation. While formal democracy is of course a criterion for membership, other EU policies conflict with the development of democracy beyond minimal formal criteria. Thus, official rhetoric notwithstanding, the institutional design and policies of the enlarging European Union clearly aim more at creating wealth for the few than at empowering the many. Other attempts at regional integration should prioritize among the values to be realized before heedlessly copying the EU's design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
9. A Coming Crisis of the EURO?
- Author
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Cafruny, Alan W. and Ryner, J. Magnus
- Subjects
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CAPITALISM , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *CURRENCY question , *MONETARY systems , *MONETARY unions , *HEGEMONY - Abstract
Official ‘Eurospeak’ and mainstream European integration theory holds the completion of the 3rd stage of the European Monetary Union to represent a high point of achievement of forging ‘an ever closer union’ or a new novel ‘multileveled polity’. Whilst not incorrect in a formal sense, this is an extremely one-sided perspective, which disregards the more important disintegrative effects the EURO is having on the configuration of social accords that underpin European welfare capitalism. The paper will demonstrate that the EMU has systematically been configured into a structurally subordinate relation to the US Dollar in the neo-liberal transnational financial order, which seriously circumscribes the capacity of European state apparatuses to manage social antagonisms that are unleashed in the current process of capitalist restructuring. This is in contrast to the American case, where the capacity to turn debt into capital, makes it possible to draw on the financial order for these purposes. It is argued, therefore, that the EMU is ridden with crisis tendencies. Their actual and potential manifestations are explored, including the rise of right wing populism as well as prospective European challenges to current American hegemony, which might constitute a ‘blowback’ in Chalmers Johnson’s sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
10. A Model in Crisis? The Effects of the 2010 Euro-Crisis on the EU Model for Regional Integration in South America.
- Author
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Lazarou, Elena
- Subjects
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EUROPEAN Sovereign Debt Crisis, 2009-2018 , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL relations , *ECONOMIC models - Abstract
The EU has been coined a model power?, charting a course for regional co-operation between other countries in its own image. Indeed, the normative dimension, which lies at the heart of the EU-model, has led the EU to perceive itself as an example for effective and legitimate governance to be emulated by other regions (Torrent 2002;Manners 2002). Thus, the export? or diffusion? of norms has become linked to the EU?s external relations policy, part of which is the promotion of regional integration in other regions. With this in mind, this paper examines the influence of the EU model on Brazilian policy on South American integration, assessing the implications of the 2008-2010 crisis in Europe on the perceived success of this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
11. Interregionalism or Merely a Fourth Level Game?: An Examination of the EU-ASEAN Relationship.
- Author
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Camroux, David
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL relations , *INTERREGIONALISM , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration - Abstract
It is argued in this paper that the normative, quasi-messianic nature of both the conscious and unconscious attempts of the European Union as a "civilian power" to export its model of regional integration elsewhere, has led to the claim that an ostensibly new form of interaction in international relations - one characterized as interregionalism - has emerged. An examination of the EU-ASEAN relationship, however, would suggest that this assertion is greatly exaggerated. Between classic bilateral relations, between individual EU members and individual Southeast Asian nations, and forms of multilateral and asymmetrical bilateral relations between the EU as a political actor and individual ASEAN members, the space for interregionalism is indeed very limited. Rather, by building on Putnam's seminal work enunciating his metaphor of "two-level games" (ie the domestic and the international) and its extension in Patterson's and Deutsch's discussion of "three level games" (the third level being the intra-regional), it is suggested that interregionalism is merely the addition of a minor fourth level in international relations bargaining. Such a characterization has the salutary effect of drawing attention back both to the different forms of regional integration and to the varying capacities within regional entities. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
12. Problematizing the EU's Model Export to Mercosur: Strategies and Motivations.
- Author
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Lenz, Tobias
- Subjects
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MONETARY unions , *EUROPEAN integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration - Abstract
This paper proposes a new analytical framework for understanding the EU's promotion of regional integration in other parts of the world, and explores its utility through the case of EU-Mercosur interregional relations. This framework is based on the fundamental distinction between passive attraction and active promotion of regionalism and asks how these two interact in explaining success and failure of EU activities. In the end, it identifies three emerging tensions in this policy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
13. The Third Way: Single-State Structures in Regional Integration Accords.
- Author
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Hancock, Kathleen J.
- Subjects
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INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *DECISION making , *POLITICAL leadership , *INTERNATIONAL relations - Abstract
This paper places Russia-centered economic integration into the regional comparative integration literature. Driven by puzzles related to the European Union, scholars of regional economic integration have focused on two types of governance structures: intergovernmental and supranational. There is a third choice that has been largely ignored by scholars, if not by political leaders: the single-state structure. Under this structure, relatively small states-Joiners-delegate decision-making authority to a more powerful state-the Designer-rather than to an international organization. Two primary variables affect the type of structure that emerges: the Designer's governance identity and the Joiners' optional partners. Designers are either democrats or dominators; democrats prefer intergovernmental or supranational structures, while dominators select the single-state option. Designers are classified based either on the political leadership's true beliefs about the proper form of government, or on their view's of the best image to portray to potential Joiners in order to persuade them to join the accord. Joiners, meanwhile, assess the benefits of the membership in the Designer's accord against fears that the Designer will act opportunistically. The net value is then weighed against the value offered by other options. Three cases, spanning continents and hundreds of years, demonstrate the analysis: Prussia and the Zollverein, South Africa and the Southern African Customs Union, and Russian-designed accords. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
14. South American Integration and EU Inter-regionalism: What Impact?
- Author
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Giacalone, Rita
- Subjects
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REGIONALISM , *INTERNATIONAL relations , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL cooperation - Abstract
The feeling of exceptionalism of the European Union, due to its internal make-up as an integrated bloc of nations, has helped to develop a foreign policy which has been labelled inter regionalism. Two generally accepted propositions (arguments) regarding European inter regionalism are the following: 1) the EU is applying soft power in its foreign relations with developing nations due to its internal make-up, which influences actorness; and 2) European leadership among those nations would lead necessarily to the establishment of a more stable, peaceful, and democratic world order. The paper tests these two propositions, as well as the impact of inter-regionalism in South American integration ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
15. Toward a General Theory of Regional Economic Integration: Fictitious or Feasible?
- Author
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Huelsemeyer, Axel
- Subjects
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INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *SOVEREIGNTY , *INTERNATIONAL trade , *INTERNATIONAL economic relations - Abstract
Since the mid-1980s, the phenomenon of primarily economically motivated regional integration is observable in and beyond the OECD world, but particularly in Europe, the Western hemisphere, and Southeast Asia. While it generally can be conceptualized as a change in political-institutional organization, it neither shifts sovereignty away from the constituting member states (although it may limit it), nor are institutional alternatives apparent against whom PTAs "win out." Yet, considerable variation exists in the degree of institutional density among these preferential trading arrangements (PTAs).The theoretical IPE literature disagrees on whether generalizations about regional integration are fictitious - as asserted in the epigraph -, precisely due to the institutional variation among PTAs, or whether an overall logic of regional integration can be attained (Mattli 1999), even specifying the conditions under which deeper institutional levels of PTAs occur (Feng and Genna 2003).Given the contradiction of these claims, the purpose of this paper is to take stock of the contemporary theoretical literature on regional (economic) integration, analytically distinguishing between explanations of: the a) initial impetus to forge PTAs; b) their process of consolidation; and c) the institutional variation among them. I empirically illustrate the advances and shortcomings of this literature with an emphasis on Europe and the Southern Cone between 1985 and 2005.The structure is as follows: the first section reviews the theoretical accounts for the rationale that prompts states to embark on a PTA in the first place. This thus also entails the particular public goods that in principle are considered to more profitably be provided at the regional rather than the national level. Second, I cover the work on the conditions under which an integration scheme, once it is in place, can be successfully be consolidated and furthered. The third section specifically deals with theoretical explanations of the institutional variation between different PTAs. Each section is followed by an empirical account of the integration schemes that either illustrate or contradict the theoretical points advanced.The rationale for concentrating on, but not limiting itself to, European integration and the Southern Cone since the mid-1980s is twofold. On the one hand, the European Union (EU) traditionally serves - often explicitly - as the template for PTAs elsewhere. Its central feature is that the geographical "widening" and institutional "deepening" have both taken place simultaneously within the same integration scheme - slight name changes from European Economic Community (EEC) to European Community (EC) to EU notwithstanding. On the other hand, the Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR) is the macro-region that is both economically closest to the European benchmark; it has geographically widened in recent years to incorporate as associate members all countries of the Andean Community. It is also the instigator behind an ambitious project of declaratory institutional deepening, the South American Community of Nations (SACN).I conclude with an assessment of whether or not the link between the theoretical propositions and the results of the empirical investigation warrants further comparisons to include the Western hemisphere as a whole and Southeast Asia. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
16. Network Governance and Environmental Decisionmaking in the European Union.
- Author
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Brown, M. Leann
- Subjects
- *
DECISION making , *INTERNATIONAL relations , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *DEMOCRACY , *GLOBALIZATION - Abstract
Formulating theories and models to describe and explain decisionmaking in the unique entity that is the European Union (EU) is an ongoing challenge for global political economists. In the decades since the 1957 Treaties of Rome launched the project, mainstream International Relations scholars have variously employed functionalist/neofunctionalist, intergovernmental, and multilevel governance assumptions to explain Europeâs progress toward economic, political, social, and security integration. This paper investigates the conceptualization, theoretical precursors, appropriateness and usefulness of a network governance model to understanding environmental decisionmaking in the EU. EU networks are constituted of multiple interdependent governmental and nongovernmental actors, possessing a variety of resources, who interact in various ways to solve problems, achieve their policy goals, and move forward the integration project. Networks are distinctive and comparable along several attributes including size, tightness or looseness, longevity and membership stability over time, resource interdependencies, identity and social cohesion, and level of policy consensus. The study concludes by considering the implications of a network governance model for broader normative and theoretical concerns associated with democracy and globalization. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
17. Institutional Requirements for Regional Economic Integration: A Comparative Perspective on the EU and NAFTA.
- Author
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Laursen, Finn
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *SUPRANATIONALISM , *FINANCIAL liberalization , *DEFECTION , *CUSTOMS unions ,NORTH American Free Trade Agreement - Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of institutions for successful international economic integration comparing the EU with NAFTA and en passant some other regional integration schemes. Taking the point of departure in neo-liberal institutionalist theories of international regimes and rational theories of international integration, especially the contributions by Moravcsik and Mattli, the respective institutional designs of EU and NAFTA are compared. The question is asked: Can both 'supranational' institutions à la EU and less supranational and more intergovernmental institutions à la NAFTA create 'credible' commitments'? The answer seems to be yes, but a brief comparison with other integration schemes such as APEC suggests that a certain legal formalization is necessary to 'lock-in' liberalization and limit defection. Further, it is noted that the EU has moved much beyond a free trade area (FTA) to create an internal market, an Economic and Monetarty Uino (EMU) and a number of common policies. These common policies, especially the Structural Funds allow for some redistribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
18. Displaying Identities in Museums, Between Innovative Methods and Old Constraints.
- Author
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Cadot, Christine
- Subjects
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NATIONAL museums , *TECHNOLOGICAL innovations , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration - Abstract
Recent projects and realisations in European politics regarding the EU integration and enlargement show the growing importance of the expert figure in delivering the political message in a way that can be understand by non-expert and, at large, by citizens. On the national and supra-national level, recent opening of history museums show the need for rewriting or reconstructing national and European memories, in allowing academics and the civil society to question patterns and frames used so far by museum practitioners (curators, restorers...) for the pursuit of political agendas. Using the case studies of the Museum of Europe in Brussels and the National Museum of Australia at Canberra, our presentation will deal with the new challenges museologists have to embrace, when related to conventions of display whose structures of power and authority were, in the cases of national museums, hidden and masked from view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
19. The Effects of Regionalism on Economic Development.
- Author
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Kim, Hae S.
- Subjects
- *
REGIONALISM (International organization) , *ECONOMIC development , *INTERNATIONAL law , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *ECONOMIC globalization - Abstract
Many regional organizations (ROs) in the world represent their respective regionalisms. There are many patterns of regionalism identified in the world- "economic globallyoriented," "terms of trade-oriented," "political and/or military-oriented," and "international dependency-oriented." The effects of regionalism on economic development vary according to each pattern. In general, regionalisms are insignificantly or weakly associated with economic development and economic globalization, except European Union (EU)-regionalism. Regardless of the extents of regional integration, economic globalization rather than regionalism turns out to be important determinant of economic development. If any ROs need to enhance economic development via their respective regionalism mechanisms, they need to first identify correct pattern of regionalism as well as interrelations among diverse variables, including economic development and economic globalization, which build up each pattern of regionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2011
20. Anatomy of Political Identity: Determinants of National and European Identities, 1995-2003.
- Author
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Chin, Lynn, Hadler, Marcus, and Tsutsui, Kiyoteru
- Subjects
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NATIONAL character , *NATIONALISM , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL relations - Abstract
This study examines how individualsâ identification with different levels of collectivity varies across countries, groups and individuals within the context of the expansion of the European Union (EU). It proposes three sets of hypotheses regarding individualsâ local, national and European identities concerning social psychological, demographic, and institutional processes. First, social psychological approaches lead to two opposing predictions: that lower levels of identities either reinforce or conflict with higher levels of identity. Second, in the context of EU expansion, we predict that minorities are more likely to identify with the EU, but are less likely to identify with their nation. Third, on a macro institutional level, we examine the impact of having a communist past, the duration of EU participation, and the levels of economic development and international integration. Controlling for the impact of demographic factors, such as age and gender, we test these hypotheses using ISSP survey data from fifteen European countries for the years 1995 and 2003. Our results show that different levels of identity generally have mutually reinforcing effects and that the effects are stronger for those identities whose bases are closer in size. We also find that minority identity does not fit into the expanding concentric circle of identities from local to national to European level, and instead it works as oppositional to national identity but in alliance with European identity. The macro level analysis indicates a different political process in post-communist nations that points to widespread disillusionment with the EU in these countries. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
21. The Role of Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in International Economic Integration â" The Case of the European Union and the Central European Free Trade Area.
- Author
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Biukovic, Ljiljana
- Subjects
- *
DISPUTE resolution , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL trade - Abstract
This article seeks to resolve questions about the effectiveness of the dispute resolution mechanisms (DRMs) utilized by the European Union in numerous free trade agreements (FTAs), and show how they relate to other international dispute resolution fora and how they ensure compliance with international trade norms. Until the late 1990s, most of the economic integration agreements concluded between the EU and third countries included a DRM clause based on political dispute settlement model preferred by the EU. Since the late 1990s, however, starting with its FTA with Mexico, the EU has been negotiating FTAs with a more elaborate and juridicialized DRM clause. This new model was included, with some variations, in a number of FTAs that the EU subsequently concluded with third countries, and it inspired the most important amendment made in 2006 to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA). The new model is often called quasi-adjudicative because it involves arbitration in addition to bilateral consultations and consultation within the joint committee or the joint council of the FTA. By focusing on the evolution of CEFTAâs DRM, this article concludes with comments about the transferability of a DRM that works successfully in one FTA into others. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
22. "QUASI-STATES" IN EUROPE: INTEGRATION, STATE TERRITORIALITY AND THE CHANING NATURE OF STATEHOOD.
- Author
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Camyar, Isa
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *EUROPEAN integration - Abstract
One of the most neglected topics in the general studies of the European Integration is how the statehood of the member states is implicated in the whole process of the integration. The existing approaches in the literature on the European Integration hardly provide analytical tools that would enable us to track continuities and changes in statehood in the context of the European Integration. In my discussion, I will bring spatial analysis with the debates on state sovereignty. I will argue that the spatial nature of statehood or state territoriality has two different components, external and internal, underlying two different types of statehood, juridical or legal and empirical or sociological. In Europe, the external component of state territoriality underlying the juridical dimension of statehood is eroding; the states are giving up their 'exclusive rights' to have ultimate authority within a given territorial jurisdiction in an increasing number of policy areas. However, the internal component of state territoriality underlying the empirical or sociological dimension of statehood is still strong; the states still hold remarkable administrative, extractive and coercive capacities. My thesis is that the spatial nature of the statehood in Europe is changing, and we have increasingly "quasi-states" in Europe, which are strong in internal territoriality and empirical statehood, but weak in external territoriality and juridical statehood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005
23. Regional Economic Integration between Developing and Developed states.
- Author
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Hirsch, Moshe
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration ,NORTH American Free Trade Agreement ,DEVELOPING countries ,DEVELOPED countries - Abstract
Regional Economic Integration between Developing and Developed States/ Moshe Hirsch Economic integration between developing and developed states is a desirable process and should be promoted by the international community through various legal mechanisms. North ? South regional integration arrangements (RIAs) generate significant economic gains to developing states and better integrate them into the world economic system. Such arrangements are also expected to gradually reduce socio-cultural differences and tensions between developing and developed states. These integration arrangements also generate important non-economic as well as economic gains to developed states. The prominent examples of such RIAs are the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and the recent agreements that facilitated the accession of Eastern and Central European states to the European Union (EU). Other RIAs, which involve modest institutional arrangements, are the EU-South Africa Free Trade Area (FTA) Agreement and U.S. ? Chile FTA Agreement. The paper analyzes the principal factors that affect the formation and expansion of RIAs between developing and developed states and suggests some legal mechanisms to enhance the prospects of this desirable integration process. To attain these aims, the paper employs various theoretical tools that have been developed in political economic,political science and sociological theories of international integration. Drawing upon these theories, a variety of legal mechanisms that are likely to promote North ? South economic integration are suggested. These legal instruments include conferring on the members of these RIAs various trade and legal incentives in the global trading system (e.g., reduced tariff rates or privileged rules of origin) and extending the surveillance and adjudication operations of global institutions (like the WTO) to monitor and implement North ? South economic arrangements. Such integration arrangements should also be supplemented by legal rules that implement various sociological strategies that alleviate socio-cultural tensions and foster a sense of community among the involved societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
24. The Common Currency a Single State Does Not Make: The Bridges of the Euro Currency.
- Subjects
- *
MONEY , *EURO , *MONETARY policy , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic relations - Abstract
Twelve EU member states currently use the euro currency, which on one side of the bank notes features images of a series of bridges. This paper asks why were bridges chosen? The paper sets out three frames of reference for considering the question. The first considers the significance of currency as a symbol of national identity and the association at the EU level with a federal project. The second considers bridges as an emblem of supranational integration, while the third considers bridges as a metaphor of the post-Westphalian state system. The paper is divided into three substantive sections. The first considers the established argument in the literature that currency is a symbol of national identity and state sovereignty. In the recent debate on the Euro this perspective has informed those that regard the currency as a step towards federal union. Seen through this prism bridges are a curious choice, insofar as Europeâs founding fathers (Monnet and Schumann et al) would seem more likely icons. The second section begins by noting how bridges are a vital part of the infrastructure that underpins the objectives of the EU â" the free movement of labour, goods and capital around the member states. The most impressive example of this is the 16km Oresund bridge linking southern Sweden and Denmark, emphasising the mutual undertaking to construct permanent ties between European states, and peacefully bind together each âendâ of the bridge. Bridges therefore symbolise the supranational integration project that has been at the heart of the EU for over 50 years.The third section focuses on the space between EU states, by building on Robert Cooperâs definition of a âpostmodernâ state system, in which the Westphalian distinction between domestic and international has eroded. The bridge is no longer regarded as the linking devise between separate sovereign states that âbridgesâ the international void. Instead, the bridge is the ânew internationalâ; it is the unique space between European states that is no longer external or âoutsideâ. The paper concludes that the third interpretation of the bridges of the euro currency is the most appropriate, since it symbolises the aspiration for a new sort of political order in Europe, one that challenges the traditional Westphalian notion of state sovereignty. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
25. Islam and European Integration: Re-enforcing or Overcoming the Tensions?
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *ORIENTALISM , *MUSLIMS in non-Islamic countries - Abstract
This paper explores a contradiction seemingly at the heart of the process of European integration. On the one hand, this process evokes and symbolises a dimension of expanding solidarity and widening circles of identification; on the other, the related search for a common identity seems to entail a parallel tendency to draw boundaries - and thus, construct difference - between what is European and what is not. A growing tendency to frame discussions over the integration of Muslims in Europe or Turkeyâs accession to the European Union in terms of compatibility of values suggests that in the problematic attempt to define what is 'European', the alleged 'difference' (non-Europeaness) represented by Islam has acquired a new salience. These tensions could be understood in the light of a tradition of modern Orientalism which, traced back to Hegel and Weber, supports an image of Islam as the 'other' of European modernity. This analysis, however, raises a key question: Is the European Union's narrative of expanding solidarity contributing to break with this chain of interpretation or is it actually re-enforcing it? The hypothesis explored in this paper is that there exists a self-absolving narrative entrenched in the process of European integration which, by portraying Europe as a space of peace, solidarity and tolerance, releases it from responsibility in fostering tensions with Muslim groups. As a result, Europe has certainly matured a cosmopolitan dimension through the process of European integration, yet this process may also have enforced traditional dimensions of European 'Otherness'. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
26. From Regional Integration to Crisis Management: A European way of Dealing with Conflictuality?
- Author
-
Davidshofer, Stephan
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *CRISIS management ,EUROPEAN economic integration - Abstract
The European project is often considered a unique process of regional integration which has succeeded to end the old rivalries between European nations. Through the Community method of functional integration, what became the EU succeeded to bring a stable peace for the first time in history on the European continent. The twofolds dynamics of integration and successive enlargements has transformed the EU Members States into what is usually referred as a "security community". With regard to non Member States- i.e neighbouring and other third countries- the EU has also been very active in contributing to international peace and stability. To serve this purpose, a vast range of capabilities are mobilized, such as democratization, civilian and military crisis management, or security sector reform (SSR). The ability to successfully combine these capabilities is described as an EU specificity in the international arena.This paper seeks to critically discuss this reading of EU's international role as a security actor, which builds on the idea that the EU's past experience of reconciliation gives it an added-value in dealing with conflictuality. It will for this purpose investigate the issue of so-called European crisis management (ECG), usually described as an EU-specific contribution to conflict settlement. It argues that the practices embedded in the security continuum which constitutes ECG are very similar to the methodology for conflict resolution developed since the 1992 UN Agenda for Peace. Thus, ECG will be analyzed as a process of importation and europeanization of international practices of conflict resolution in European transnational arenas dedicated to security issues. This observation will ultimately lead the paper to recontextualize ECG in the broader debate of the construction of EU's international identity. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
27. Romania and the Prospects of Europeanization in theBlack Sea Area - Any Extra Regional Relevances?
- Author
-
Jora, Silviu
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *EUROPEANIZATION , *DEMOCRACY - Abstract
Considering that in the European integration process of Romania, the EUhas worked powerfully as a promoter of democracy, structural developmentand security, the paper examines the extent to which the EU is acoherent actor in pursuing this goal of â??Europeanizationâ? in the BlackSea Area. Considering that currently the EUâ??s â??Neighborhood policyâ? issubject to ambiguous interpretations, this paper assesses the role whichcan be played by Romania in determining a more substantial EU â??BlackSeaâ? regional policy, which could soften the ambiguities and multiplythe options for policy application in the region. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
28. International Institutions and Changes in Preferences of States: ?The Second Image Reversed? in the Case of Regional Integration.
- Author
-
Min-hyung Kim
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL agencies , *STATE power ,NORTH American Free Trade Agreement - Abstract
Realists claim that leading states can never be bound by international institutions. Since international institutions simply reflect state power, they serve as instruments for the interests of leading states and are arenas for acting out power relations (Mearsheimer 1994/95). Instead of assuming international institutions provide joint gains, realists argue that powerful states often have the ability to present others with a fait accompli to which they are forced to adjust, sometimes making them worse off than they were before the agreement was made (Gruber 2000). Challenging this claim, this paper seeks to specify the conditions under which international institutions constrain the choices of leading states and thus change their preferences in international bargains. To show how international institutions constrain the choices of leading states and change leading states? preferences, this paper focuses on regional integration schemes (i.e., The EU, NAFTA, ASEAN). These integration schemes, which represent different level of institutionalization in different regions, demonstrate that international institutions?once created? are not just tools of powerful states, nor just passive devices to reduce transaction costs, manage interdependence, signal commitments, and lock-in agreements. They are also vehicles for implementing policies and spreading norms and expectations, sometimes against the wishes of key domestic constituencies of leading states (Risse, Cowles, and Caporaso 2001). I employ historical institutionalism to explain the power of international institutions. The main focus of historical institutionalism lies in the ways prior institutional commitments condition future action, limit the scope of what is possible and cause agents (states) to redefine their interests (Pierson 1996). Following the historical institutional approach, I argue that while states choose international institutions, international institutions over time constrain and reshape the choices and preferences of states. In other words, policy-makers or states are careful to choose a regional integration scheme (which best suits their goals and bring benefits that outweigh the costs of membership) in the first place and try to increase their leverage by controlling the pace of regional integration but, over time, regional institutions evolve and reshape the preferences of states by constraining the choices of domestic actors and providing them with ?elite learning.? ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
29. Europeanization of the Balkans: Main Achievements and Difficulties. The Case of Macedonia.
- Author
-
Cierco, Teresa
- Subjects
- *
EUROPEAN integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic relations , *POLITICAL science , *DEMOCRATIZATION - Abstract
The Balkan?s region constitutes an inseparable part of the ongoing formation of a ?new? European space, but it is still a most unstable region in the continent. Comprising Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro and Macedonia, its integration into European structures, particularly the European Union (EU), has proved to be a problematic and difficult process due to the political, economic and social situation of these countries. However, the prospect of EU membership has been a motivating factor for the systemic transformation and structural accommodation required for the stabilization and democratization of this region.In this context, this paper aims to analyze to what extent the EU efforts and initiatives in the Balkans have been contributing to the area?s pacification and to fostering good governance in the region. Understanding Europeanization as the conceptual framework that links transition and integration, a multiplicity of questions arise concerning the way in which these countries have been affected by this process. Which have been the main achievements and difficulties of this convergence process in the Balkans, particularly in Macedonia? And, which has been its impact in state-building in its different dimensions: political, economic, social? Searching answers to these questions, this paper aims to contribute for a better understanding of the Europeanization process in the Balkans, addressing its results and effects in the current situation of Macedonia regarding the democratization process, the inter-ethnic relationships and future integration into the EU. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
30. The Role of National Party Systems in the Success of the European Integration.
- Author
-
Shvetsova, Olga and Filippov, Mikhail
- Subjects
- *
ELECTIONS , *POLITICAL parties , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL relations - Abstract
The European Union as a model of economic and political integration inspires political leaders across the globe. Yet, frequently, in drawing lessons from the European success story, the role in it of the democratic electoral competition gets overlooked. In this paper we identify the peculiar characteristics of electoral competition among major domestic political parties in the member states as one of the necessary conditions of the EU integration success, and argue for the inclusion in the analysis of integration variables that characterize the domestic party systems. It has been frequently argued that the success of the European integration is due to the fact that in most European countries a broad majority of the national decision-making elites in the government, state bureaucracy, major political parties, key interest groups, and the media favor the European integration. The commitment to integration among the elites was not shared to the same extent by the voters in most EU countries. Importantly, skeptical voters had little impact on the views of the major political parties. In most European countries, stable and consolidated national party systems were able to accommodate potentially divisive issues of the European integration by means of preserving a familiar pattern of electoral competition, and thus enabled the continued elite commitment to integration. In these countries, only on rare occasions do European issues become prominent during election campaigns, and even the elections to the European Parliament are dominated by the domestic issues. In the paper, we analyze the institutional conditions in stable European democracies that make it possible for major political parties to avoid competing on the integration dimension. Based on this analysis, we argue that nations lacking those institutional preconditions would also lack the ability to subdue a new distributive issue in their political process. Such an issue as the European integration would likely become the focus of electoral competition among political parties and materially weigh on the voters? choices in those countries. We identify characteristics of electoral competition among major domestic political parties in Europe as one of the necessary conditions of the EU integration success, and argue for the inclusion in the theoretical analysis of integration variables that characterize domestic party systems. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
31. Equilibrium Size and Scope of a Union: The EU's New Political Architecture.
- Author
-
Konstantinidis, Nikitas
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic relations , *INTERNATIONAL cooperation , *INTERNATIONAL relations - Abstract
This paper examines the endogenous strategic considerations in simultaneously creating, enlarging, and deepening an international union of countries. What explains for example the heightened legislative activity within the EU in the periods leading up to ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
32. The Long Way to Regional Integration: From Desecuritisation to Common Market in the EEC and Mercosur.
- Author
-
Oelsner, Andrea
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration - Abstract
The paper explores the long processes of desecuritisation and rapprochement in the cases of two dyads, Germany and France, and Argentina and Brazil, which eventually became the core of regional integration processesâ"the EEC/EU and Mercosur respectively. A ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
33. Regional Integration and Illiberal Democracy: Mexicoâs Dilemma.
- Author
-
Robinson, James
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *DEMOCRATIZATION , *POLITICAL science , *NEOLIBERALISM - Abstract
Over the last few decades, regional integration has become an important international instrument for democratization. Regional agreements like the European Union, NAFTA and Mercosur require that all members and trading partners have democratic regimes. "Democratic clauses" explicitly spell out the political conditions for integrating into regional trading blocs. Clearly, such regional pacts operate under the assumption that democratization and the "locking in" of neoliberal market reforms are complimentary. On closer inspection, this assumption is highly suspect. The purpose of this paper is to examine the specific case of how NAFTA has contributed both to the democratization of the Mexico and to the liberalization of its domestic economic market. The problem, however, lies in how market reforms have weakened state controls and inadvertently contributed to an alarming rise of crime and corruption throughout the country. This, in turn, has placed enormous pressure on the government to adopt illiberal measures, such as its increasing use of the military and its broad interpretation of the rule of law, which threatens the quality of Mexicoâs emerging democracy. The Mexican public recognizes the dilemma and has become increasingly hostile to the integration process, which is perceived to have limited the governmentâs policy options even as crime and corruption continue to grow. In effect, by simultaneously promoting democratization and liberal reforms, NAFTA is creating a situation in Mexico that may well undermine NAFTAâs original political intent and ultimately weaken the process of regional integration. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
34. Transnational Democracy Globalization and Political Integration.
- Author
-
Keulman, Kenneth
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *GLOBALIZATION , *DEMOCRATIZATION , *INTERNATIONAL relations , *INTERNATIONAL trade - Abstract
International economic integration is more restricted than ordinarily portrayed. Economic globalization is constrained by the extent of institutional diversity at the level of the nation-state. While economies are becoming more international, politics continues to be national and might even be developing into a more subnational phenomenon. This paper analyzes the relationship between economic globalization and democratization as mediated by political integration. This form of integration is a significant correlate of globalization, since in a more integrated world, the more comprehensive political connections among nation-states gain momentum. Democratic transitions, if accompanied by a level of political integration, may have a constructive impact on economic development. The improved integration of Eastern European countries with the European Union was an important part of the transition to democratic government and in the consolidation of these democracies. Increased political integration among nations makes it more damaging to employ force to obstruct democratization. This is due to the possibility of penalties initiated by democratic states, to the cutting off of trade. Concomitant with increasing political integration, civil society becomes more robust in states that are not democratic, making autocracy difficult. The growth of civil society proceeds from improved political connections between nondemocratic and democratic countries. The global system has a divergent effect on the elements that constitute it. This insecurity encourages experiments with novel modes of local or provincial government. At the international level, global institutions are the objects of challenges when the distribution of decision-making capability within them fails to be consistent with the distribution of actual influence among nation states. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
35. Combining Insights from IR and Comparative Politics: Conceptualizing the European Union Polity.
- Subjects
- *
EUROPEAN integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL relations , *SOVEREIGNTY - Abstract
EU integration studies suffers from a certain inability to combine disciplinary perspectives, owing to uncertainty regarding what exactly it is that needs to be explained about integration (Hooghe and Marks, 2007). However, this paper argues that insights from IR and comparative politics (CP) can be fruitfully combined when conceptualizing the EU as a polity. IR scholars have largely focused on explaining why and how European states are integrating (Pollack, 2001), using neo-functionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, rational-choice institutionalism and constructivism. This contrasts markedly with the lively debate in CP over whether the EU is best conceived as a type of consociation (Bogaards, 2002; Magnette, 2003), a multi-level system (Hooghe and Marks, 2001) a compound republic (Fabbrini, 2003) or a quasi-federation (McKay, 2001; Menon and Schain, 2006). However, this debate overlooks the way in which IR scholars regard sovereignty as a relation rather than a possession and how negotiating this relation helps to constitute the EU political system (Jackson, 1999; Werner and de Wilde, 2001). IR literature on the American republican project (Deudney, 2007, 1995; Hendrickson, 2005; Onuf and Onuf, 1993) also illuminates similar relational problems of sovereignty, including how these are complicated by popular sovereignty. The incorporation of the sovereignty problématique and the introduction of the example of the US republican system, it is argued, serve to reinforce the merits of the âcompoundâ conceptualization of the EU as partly confederal and partly federal. Combining insights from IR and CP thus demonstrates how theory-building in EU studies can profit from the mutual interaction of IR and CP. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008
36. The French European Garden is No Longer What it has Been - A Discoursive Analysis of the Impact of the Concept of the French State-Nation on European Integration and Vice Versa.
- Author
-
Holm, Ulla
- Subjects
- *
NATIONALISM , *PRESIDENTS , *DISCOURSE analysis , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration ,FRENCH politics & government - Abstract
2007 is going to be a crucial year for France. A new President is going to be elected. France has been for a long time in a double identity crisis. Internally, a process of post-modernisation with regard to decentralisation, multiculturalism and, increasng fluidity of national borders is going putting into question the hitherto conceptualisation of a unified state-nation. Externally, France is no longer the Designer of the future of the EU. On the basis of discourse analysis this paper discusses how the EU impacts the identity of the state-nation and how the political elite's hitherto conceptualization of the state-nation is put into pressure both by the society and by the EU. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
37. The Fog of Integration: Reassessing the Role of Economic Interests in European Integration.
- Author
-
Leblond, Patrick
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration ,EUROPEAN economic integration - Abstract
This paper tries to understand how it is possible that most often economic interests in the European Union are initially favourable to integration in a given policy area but then end up rejecting legislative proposals made by the Commission, usually by intensely lobbying the European Parliament (EP) and/or the Council of Ministers. For this purpose, it first develops a theoretical game (in extensive form) that derives conditions under which firms support or reject a Commission proposal and lobby for or against it at the EP and the Council. Then it examines two cases of integration failure in the EU: the directive on patenting computer-implemented inventions ("Software Directive") and the directive on takeover bids ("Takeover Directive") in order to determine the validity of the game (or model). It concludes that there is nothing paradoxical about economic interests being in favour of integration in principle and saying so and then being active opposing any legislative proposal that seeks to integrate a particular policy area. The key here is, first, the initial uncertainty for economic interests regarding the details of any legislative proposal that the Commission will make after consulting with those interests and understanding their payoffs from integration. Second, firms retain the option to lobby further on if they think that a proposed piece of legislation is harmful to their interests. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
38. Regional Integration and Economic Reforms: Lessons from Spain.
- Author
-
Royo, Sebastián
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic relations , *ECONOMIC reform - Abstract
Since the 19th century, the obsession of Spanish reformists has been to make up the lost ground with modernized countries. This paper examines the integration experience of Spain in the European Union in order to study how integration has affected its economic structures and economic performance. It examines the relationship between regional integration, economic growth, and economic reforms in this country, and draws some lessons based on its EU integration experience. In particular it looks at the impact of European Monetary Union (EMU) integration in the Spanish economy. While the overall benefits of EMU membership are undeniable, contrary to expectations It has not led to a process of deep economic structural reforms that would have fostered the development of an economic growth model based on value added and productivity. The examination of the Spanish case will show that the process of economic reforms has to be a domestic process led by domestic actors willing to carry them out. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
39. Predatory Finance and the Financialization of the Periphery.
- Author
-
Raviv, Or
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic relations , *INTERNATIONAL finance - Abstract
Over the past decade, global finance has expanded its reach into numerous peripheral economies across the globe, entailing the makeover of local economic institutions and policies along neoliberal lines. No where is this more apparent than in the case of the Central European new EU member states; here, the neoliberal principals of economic management, first introduced by the IMF in the early 1990s, were subsequently ?locked in? by the process of EU accession. Concomitantly, foreign financial inflows have completely overhauled the ownership structures of the existing financial systems. Neoliberal restructuring irrespective of where it takes place, is universally legitimized and prescribed along broadly identical arguments. Conversely, a more critical political economy perspective addresses the expansion of global finance into peripheral economies in the context of the structural contradictions faced by the already financialized economies of the core. This paper argues that the current financial expansion is predatory in nature; it was never aimed at addressing the developmental needs of the host economies, but rather, redressing the structural contradiction faced by the already financialized economies of Western Europe. It will be demonstrated that thus far the financial integration of Central Europe failed to generate the promised optimisation of investment or to promote efficient economic management, let alone enhance general welfare levels in the region. Moreover, I argue that foreign financiers have instead scavenged for opportunities for interest income on asset-backed credit and risk-free lending, whilst passing on risks to the population at large. Finally, I will demonstrate how the concentration of disciplinary power in the hands of foreign financiers and regulators has adversely affected local state regulators, the local non-financial sector and local households respectively. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
40. Let's Discuss This Behind Closed Doors: European Integration and Party Politics in Finland.
- Author
-
Raunio, Tapio
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *REFERENDUM , *REPRESENTATIVE government , *INTERNATIONAL relations , *POLITICAL parties , *POLITICAL systems - Abstract
Despite the divisive nature of the 1994 EU membership referendum, European integration has not triggered any changes in the Finnish party system. The same set of parties continues to contest the elections, and in general the EU is a relatively non-controversial issue in domestic politics. This paper argues that the low salience of European integration results in part from the strategies of the mainstream parties that have managed to effectively remove the EU from domestic party competition. The bargaining involved in forming multi-party coalitions and the consensual system of formulating national EU policy have in turn produced a wide opinion gap between the parties and their supporters. As a result, European integration weakens accountability mechanisms within the parties. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
41. Brazil and Mexico: Models of Integration and the Challenges of Development.
- Author
-
De Oliveira, Marcos Aurelio Guedes
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL competition , *ECONOMIC research - Abstract
This article discusses the options taken by Mexico and Brazil concerning ways to better integrate themselves into the global economy. Mexico took a free trade framework in order to join North America while Brazil opted for an institutional framework to form Mercosur with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. This paper starts by showing how different options led two once closely studied Latin American countries into different directions. It compares the consequences of these options in terms of foreign trade and regional leadership; investment and dependence; and migration. It argues that despite positive changes both countries still face traditional economic problems. The advantages brought by their options for integration are coming to an end. Mexico has lost US investment to China and is facing difficult migration problems with the US. Brazil has being unable to lead Mercosur and South America into integration. Both countries are facing low economic growth and social problems remains. Maybe it is time to compare their experience and look at the EU model of integration and see in what way it can help Mexico and Brazil to move forward. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2007
42. The Western Balkans and the EU.
- Author
-
Vukadinovic, Radovan and Cehulic, Lidija
- Subjects
- *
EUROPEANIZATION , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL relations ,FOREIGN relations of the European Union - Abstract
The prospects for stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans will be greatly enhanced through Europeanization and integration with the EU. This paper argues that security and economic development in the region are interdependent and will gain momentum from the widening of the EU. There will be some emphasis on Croatia. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
43. Euroatlantic Integrations - Instrument for Overcoming the North-South Division in Europe.
- Author
-
Cehulic, Lidija
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL agencies , *MEMBERSHIP in associations, institutions, etc. - Abstract
EUROPEAN UNION AND NATO ARE REPRESENTING THE OLDEST AND THE STRONGEST INSTRUMENTS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATIONS AND ALL COUNTRIES IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE ARE STRIVING TO BE PART OF THIS MECANISMS. THA PAPER SHOWS THE CHANCES FOR ENLARGEMENT OF EU AND NATO AND THE POSITION OF THE COUNTRIES WHICH ARE NOT YET MEMBERS OF THEM. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
44. Europe as a Model for Transnational Peace? Chances for Identity Changes in Emerging Regional Integration Blocks of the Global South.
- Author
-
Thiel, Thiel
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *PEACE , *NATIONAL character , *NATIONALISM - Abstract
In regional integration blocks such as the European Union (EU), previously exclusive national identities have been transformed through economic as well as political measures and developed a common transnational identification rooted in culture and history but now developed by civic measures. This paper will look at how regional integration blocks in South America, Southeast Asia and Africa deal with the challenges of nationalism, interstate conflict and protectionism and describe factors that facilitate and/or constraint the development of transnational identities, taking into account the historical and political conditions as well as the institutionalist structures of each respective block. In particular, the questions of the relationship between political and economic integration as a condition for transnational peace in the less developed South will be paid sufficient attention. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
45. Directions of European Integration: From Horizontal to Vertical Inequality?
- Author
-
Freyberg-Inan, Annette
- Subjects
- *
CRITICAL theory , *ECONOMIC expansion , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *EAST-West divide , *GLOBAL North-South divide , *SOCIAL change - Abstract
This paper answers the question raised by the panel from a critical theory point of view which stresses in particular the interests driving the progressive expansion and lop-sided integration of the European Union and the problematic effects of these processes for disadvantaged citizens both east and west. The answer to the question whether the concepts of "north" versus "south" can usefully be applied to a discussion of contemporary political economic dynamics in Europe is both yes, to some extent, and, ultimately, no. On the one hand, the concepts of north and south are indeed at least to some extent useful heuristic devices for understand the evolving relations between the so-called old and new Europe, because they can draw attention to structural relationships of exploitation stable enough to pattern the processes of transformation taking place throughout the region. The concepts of north versus south invoke an evolving theoretical apparatus which was designed to focus us on such patterns, for legitimate reasons and arguably with some practical benefits for members of the global south. On the other hand, territorially based conceptions of regional and global politics which take direction from the cardinal compass points draw attention away from continuing transnationalization processes that intensify domestic heterogeneity while integrating (groups of) political agents across borders. Ultimately, it is argued, the vocabulary of "south versus north", just like that of "east versus west", must be abandoned in favor of a vocabulary that more accurately captures the empirical referent targeted by our theorizing: structural relationships supporting patterns of exploitation under the changing and progressively deterritorializing conditions of today's political economy. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
46. Coping with Regionalism: A Study of the Impacts of the Integration of Hungary to the European Union.
- Author
-
Paar-Jakli, Gabriella
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *NATIONALISM , *REGIONALISM - Abstract
Coping with Regionalism: A Study of the Impacts of the Integration of Hungary to the European UnionGabriella Paar-JakliDepartment of Political ScienceKent State UniversityScholars of international relations have been engaged in intense discourse about the ?new wave? of regionalism. The European Union provides an intriguing example for studying regional developmental processes. The recent wave of enlargement is, perhaps, one of the most important opportunities for the European Union. But is it such an irresistible opportunity for prospective members or recent applicants as well? If Gruber?s claims about the role and impact of supranational institutions are, in fact, correct, then the preferences of the creator of these institutions are ?locked in? into the rules and the mission of these institutions (2000). The case of Hungary, being both a new entrant to the European Union and a small nation, can provide lessons learned for future entrants of similar economic and political potential. The question, whether it is a clear-cut issue or not that it is a ?lesser-evil? choice for new members to join the EU, is investigated in this paper. The objective of this study is to understand the various impacts of the Hungarian accession to the European Union, and whether this new membership in this cooperative arrangement is to the benefit of the country overall. I explore what the various external and internal forces were that have led Hungary to decide to join the European Union. Moreover, exploring the aspects of the Hungarian membership may provide a powerful explanation for the behavior of other small European countries. The more accurately we can answer these questions, the better we will be able to understand the dynamics of change within Europe and its effects on world political processes. This research has much broader policy implications for political processes, in general, for it points out that there are new concerns that require new ways of thinking about national interests, power and the role of supranational institutions. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
47. The Evolution of the International Security Regime in Europe, 1992-2003.
- Author
-
Kanavou, Angeliki and Matsaganis, Matthew
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL security , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *GLOBALIZATION - Abstract
This study focuses on the international security regime in Europe, as an example of intersecting forces; those of European integration and those of globalization. It looks at the effects of the principle of flexibility (Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997) on the development of the European Union and the configuration of the security regime as a whole. Moreover, it seeks to analyze the changes that occurred in the international security regime in Europe from 1992 ? Treaty on European Union ? to 2003 ? Athens Accession Treaty. The study combines value analysis (Rokeach, 1973; Schwartz, 1995), co-evolutionary theory (Monge and Contractor, 2003; Bryant, 2003; and Shumate, 2003), global transformations theory (Held, McGrew, Goldblatt, & Perraton, 1999) in a multitheoretical, multilevel model of analysis (MTML) that allows for the study of international regime evolution. The entire security regime ? from individual nation-states, to the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU), to NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ? is operationalized in network terms and is seen as consisting of nodes (actors) and the links that connect them to one another. Our theory based analytical framework allows for the consideration of both the attributes and values of the nodes and their links. Initial findings are presented and discussed, while [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
48. Ethical Challenges of the European Neighborhood Policy.
- Author
-
Freyberg-Inan, Annette
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL relations , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *MEMBERSHIP in associations, institutions, etc. - Abstract
The European Union is frequently seen as the very institutional embodiment of liberal IR theory. Not only has the increasing interdependence and integration among its member states ushered in an era of peace and relative prosperity in the region, lending ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
49. The First Cut Is the Deepest: How Gender and Age Have Shaped Public Support For European Integration Over Time.
- Author
-
Cozma, Raluca
- Subjects
- *
UNEMPLOYMENT , *EMIGRATION & immigration , *EUROPEAN integration , *INTERNATIONAL economic integration - Abstract
Research on some of the most recent Eurobarometer data has found that gender and age, even more than personal economic evaluation, unemployment or concern about immigration, have a major impact on public support of European Union enlargement, but in the o ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
50. The Future of Regional Cooperation in East/Southeast Asia.
- Author
-
Dias, Soleiman
- Subjects
- *
INTERNATIONAL economic integration , *INTERNATIONAL trade , *GEOPOLITICS - Abstract
Regional integration has existed in almost all geographical areas of the world since the early days of the multilateral trade systems. From the European Union model to the formation of a Southern Cone Association in South America, the idea of regionalism ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
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