Defining European Integration

1
Defining European Integration

• Week 2
• 7 October 2008

2
Session Outline

• Hour 1
• Comments on theory and the utility of theory/some
  initial thoughts on characterising the EU
• How can we characterise the EU in a more complex
  way?
• (Group work, presentation of ideas and
  discussion)
• Coffee!

3
Session Outline

• Hour 2
• What forces drive integration?
• Does European integration involve a loss of
  national sovereignty?
• Can it be seen as a form of regionalism or
  globalisation?
• Discussion
• Summary

4
Theory and European Integration

• Why theorize? What value does it bring to what we
  already know?
• Provides a way of ordering the confusion of
  everyday events
• It is practical and reflects what we actually do
  on a daily basis
• It is useful and separates academic work from
  journalistic work

5
Theory and European Integration

• What is theory?
• Diez and Weiner (2004 3)
• Narrow Causal argument, tested through
  falsification of a series of hypothesis
• Broad (abstract) Abstract reflection, but
  context specific. More reflective in terms of
  integration process.

6
Theory and European Integration

• What is the purpose of theory?
• Theories serve different purposes
• Explain, predict, provide understanding,
  normative guidance
• Why do we need integration theory?
• Narrow (formal )sense
• Broader (informal and normative) sense

7
Characterising the EU

• The basic models a starting point
• Is the EU a standard International
  Organisation?Is the EU a confederal or federal
  system?

8
Characterising the EU

• International (intergovernmental) Organization
• National governments as members
• Voluntary cooperation
• Little or no autonomy over decision-making
• Little ability to enforce decisions

• Confederal System
• Loose system of administration
• States are independent (hold power)
• Central government derives power from states and
  has no direct authority over citizens
• Central authority is weak and exists at
  discretion of members

9
Characterising the EU

• Federal System
• Division of power between the centre and units
  (states)
• Both levels derive authority from the people
• Both levels exercise authority over the people
• Features Elected national government and elected
  local governments, common foreign/defence policy,
  common tax system, single currency, written
  constitution, court, etc

10
Characterising the EU

• Question for discussion
• To what extent does the EU exhibit features of
  confederalism/federalism?

11
How can we characterise the EU in a more complex
way?

• Explain the main features of each state form and
  what you think its relevance is to understanding
  the EU. What are the implications of each for
  explaining European integration?
• Group1 - Westphalian state
• Group2 - Regulatory State
• Group 3 - Post-modern State

12
What forces drive European integration?

• What is integration?
• Brainstorm Your opinions on the main mechanisms
  that influence integration (how can we think
  about integration?)

13
Integration and National Sovereignty

• Does the emergence of European authority
  structures necessarily come at the expense of
  national ones?

14
Integration as Regionalism and Globalisation

• What is the relationship between European
  integration, regionalism and globalisation?
• To what extent can integration be seen as a form
  of regionalism/reaction to globalisation?