"Cross-National Policy Networks and the State"

Sissenich, Beate. (2005) "Cross-National Policy Networks and the State". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2005 (9th), March 31-April 2, 2005, pages 44, Austin, Texas.

Abstract

This paper challenges overly optimistic claims about the power of nonstate actors in cross-border networks that link them with states and intergovernmental organizations. In a most-likely case design, the paper examines the social policy network between the European Union (EU) and Poland and Hungary prior to accession. The analysis focuses on two dimensions: whether states act as gatekeepers and whether national borders restrain communications. The paper demonstrates that while nonstate actors easily communicate with intergovernmental organizations such as the EU, contacts fail to cut across national borders. Network data show that the EU, as an intergovernmental actor, significantly controls the flow of communication, a fact that runs counter to the notion of networks as fluid entities that enable all actors to link freely with others. Both state and intergovernmental actors have an interest in network construction and control. Only by empirically tracking network contacts, the paper argues, will we be able to estimate the capacities and limits of nonstate actors in transnational politics.