Europeanization:Redefining the Research Agenda

ELIAMEP, Athens

Friday, February 8

Paolo GrazianoCenter for Comparative Political ResearchDepartment of Institutional Analysis and

Public ManagementBocconi University, Milano

Presentation outline

1. Europeanization and European studies

2. Conceptual issues

3. Theoretical issues

4. Empirical and methodological issues

5. Conclusion

Europeanization and EU studies

• neofunctionalist, (liberal) intergovernmentalist and supranational governance approaches: main focus is the EU level

• Europeanization looks primarely at the domestic level and domestic implementation of EU policies

• subdisciplinary shift from international relations to comparative politics

Europeanization research ‘promises’

• better understanding of:– EU policy-making– national policy-making– transformation of European State– EU multilevel governance patters

• Europeanization can (and has) been connected to:– EU and domestic policy analysis: policy change– EU polity building and national polity change

analysis: institutional setting– EU and domestic politics: political actors’ strategies

Europeanization research pitfalls

• conceptual confusion

• ‘fuzzy’ methodology and causal links

• lack of comparative studies

state of the art: rich empirical or conceptual studies, but very limited cases of rich empirical AND conceptual studies

Conceptual issues

• europeanization is not convergence nor mere EU integration

• top-down and bottom-up process (i.e. construction and diffusion)

• process is different from its (direct and indirect) effects

• policy, polity and politics• Europeanization as a case of regionalization

Theoretical issues

• Europeanization is not a theory yet...

• ...but it builds on both neofunctionalist and intergovernmental theoretical assumptions.

• Third step in regional integration theory?

Empirical issues

• pressure for policy change...• ...but domestic differential impact.• ‘goodness of fit’: problem or solution?• endogenous (mediating) factors do matter• pressures for

– national polities (state structures) – politics (political parties, interest groups and social

movements)

Methodological issues

• different nature of effects (direct and indirect): ex. cost containment and social policy

• counterfactual reasoning (looking for alternative pressures for change)

• broad and comparative research design• possibly cover both construction and

diffusion phases of the process

Conclusion

• Europeanization research has come of age…

• …it regards not only policy analysis but also political and polity issues…

• …but it is still quite ‘slippery’.

• conceptual and empirical issues have to be dealt together in order to advance further.