Link to the University of Pittsburgh
Link to the University Library SystemContact us link
AEI Banner

"European Integration Revisited"

Weber, Katja. (1995) "European Integration Revisited". In: UNSPECIFIED, Charleston, South Carolina. (Unpublished)

[img]
Preview
PDF
Download (1620Kb) | Preview

    Abstract

    [From the introduction]. The field of international relations is built on a conception of autonomous and self-interested states which, in the anarchic setting of international politics, rely on self-help. And yet, we frequently do see cooperation among states as numerous security and economic arrangements throughout history bear witness to. To understand world politics, I argue, one must recognize the importance of emerging hierarchies--with nation-states as their constituent elements and institutional structures that take substantial autonomy from the state. Some such hierarchical arrangements are economic (free trade areas, customs unions, common markets), others are military (ententes, formal alliances, confederations). In this paper, I explore recent integrative moves (Single European Act, Maastricht Treaty) within the European Community. I begin with the conceptualization of a continuum of cooperative economic arrangements with different degrees of bindingness. Setting my argument in the context of traditional explanations I then claim that realism barely recognizes such hierarchical arrangements and that it is inadequate to explain them. Thereafter, I examine the classical argument for the emergence of larger entities, that of economies of scale, and stress that it explains size rather than "bindingness." Recognizing that the solution for hierarchy amidst market anarchy in economics is transaction costs, I then use this insight to develop an autonomous interest-based explanation for cooperative governance structures in international politics.

    Export/Citation:EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII (Chicago style) | HTML Citation | OpenURL
    Social Networking:
    Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
    Uncontrolled Keywords: International relations theory.
    Subjects for non-EU documents: Other > integration theory (see also researching and writing the EU in this section)
    EU policies and themes > External relations > common foreign & security policy 1993--European Global Strategy
    Subjects for EU documents: UNSPECIFIED
    EU Series and Periodicals: UNSPECIFIED
    EU Annual Reports: UNSPECIFIED
    Conference: European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 1995 (4th), May 11-14, 1995
    Depositing User: Phil Wilkin
    Official EU Document: No
    Language: English
    Date Deposited: 16 Feb 2008
    Number of Pages: 38
    Last Modified: 02 Nov 2013 22:36
    URI: http://aei.pitt.edu/id/eprint/7308

    Actions (login required)

    View Item

    Document Downloads