De-configuring the European Union: A comparative approach

John Erik Fossum

No 14, ARENA Working Papers from ARENA

Abstract: This article discusses the question of the EU's uniqueness. This issue is of particular importance when considered in relation to the nation-state. Uniqueness can then be considered as a case of departure from or transformation of the nation-state. The EU has emerged with a complex mixture of supranational, transnational and intergovernmental traits. The emerging system at the EU level combines with the closely linked process of Europeanisation of the member states to transform the nation state. To study the uniqueness of the EU in relation to nation state transformation, a comparative approach is necessary. This article discusses the question of the EU's uniqueness by means of a more extensive and systematic approach to comparison than has hitherto been undertaken. It argues that the application of four strategies of comparison to the EU, applied at different stages in the EU's development, offers the best way of clarifying uniqueness.

Keywords: legitimacy; Treaty on European Union; polity building; integration theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-07-01
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.arena.uio.no/publications/working-papers2004/papers/04_14.xml Full text (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:erp:arenax:p0031

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in ARENA Working Papers from ARENA
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sindre Eikrem Hervig ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).