Focuses on the processes and outcomes of the EU, not its' existence
It's not integration, convergence or harmonisation
As it can lead to inertia, non-compliance,
absorption or transformation by Member
States
It is the adaptation of natonal institutions, the impact on
national politics, identifying shifts in cognition, identity and
discourse, and the spreading of values
Bjorn Hettne: "the process towards increasing
economic and political homogeneity and,
consequently, the elimination of extremes in terms of
economic policies or political systems..."
Ladrech (1994): "an incremental process re-orientating the direction and shape
of politics to the degree EC political and economic degree EC political and
economic dynamics become part of the organisational logic of national politics
and policy-making"
Goldsmith (2003): "the process by which increasing py numbers of policy areas have taken on
a European (EU) dimension as the process of European Integration has the process of
European Integration has developed"
3 domains: Ideational, Organisational, Public Policy
Organisational: the Brussels effect, emergence of
multi-level governance, the Treaty effect
Delanty and Rumford (2005): "that there is no underlying identity or firmly entrenched set of
values that prevents Europe from adopting a more inclusive identity"
Flockhart (2010) on the EU: The most significant difference
between this and earlier periods of Europeanization lies in the
structures and institutionalized processes of policy formulation that
are self reflexive, detailed, and expansive in scope
Neo-functionalism
Created by Haas and
Lindberg in the late
1950s-early 1960s
Hard to define: the dependent variable
problem (what is to be the end state of
integration?)
Haas: the end point "is a new political community,
superimposed over the pre-existing ones"
Lindberg: no end point, the
process is in constant flux
Attempts to be a general
universal theory (similar to
realism for IR)
5 assumptions: (1) Rational and
self-interested actors (2) Institutions
can progressively escape from their
creators (3) Primacy of incremental
decision-making (4) Rejects
zero-sum realist idea, positive-sum
instead, common interests (5)
Economic interdependence leads,
inexorably, towards further
integration
Spillover: (1) the occurrence of
integration (2) quantifying integration
as being increased via economic
interdepedence
Federalism
Althusius is seen as the
'father of modern federalism'
after writing his work the
'Politics' in 1603
It's aim is for union, but not unity - integration
not assimilation
Seen as both unifying and a
means to maintain diversity
At its' core is the principle of assocation
Liberal Intergovernmentalism
Moravcsik coined the term in the 1990s
Argued federalism was merely
a sub-form of neofunctionalism
EU politics is dominated
by Member States, in
particular the 'big' Member
States (Germany, France
and Britain)
vs. Supranationalism - the ECJ, Commission and
EP all have varying powers with their own interests
and powers
History of the EU
2004: 10 new Member States joined (including
Poland, Hungary, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta and Cyprus)
1973: UK, Denmark and Ireland join
1986: Spain and Portugal
1995: Finland, Sweden and Austria
The budget of the EU is only 1%
of the total GDP of the Member
States
The EU is not a state in the Weberian
meaning of the word - it does not have
a 'monopoly on the legitimate use of
coercion'