Suchergebnisse

Examines the political strategies that have led to the continuing integration of the European Union (EU) during the 1980s & 1990s. A prerequisite to these efforts is found in a series of institutional & procedural reforms -- eg, the majority voting procedure, the structure of the resource system, & the Court of Justice -- undertaken within EU institutions in the early 1980s. It is suggested that these reforms led to the passage of the Single European Act, in whose success the strategy of equivalence, the return of a majority voting procedure, & the principle of mutual interests played important roles. These successes, however, were only partly reflected in the Treaty of Maastricht, which has been plagued by a crisis of confidence in the concept of multilateralism & a resurgence of renationalization of policy making. Positive & negative assessments of the new process of complex integration in light of this climate are made. Finally, it is asserted that future integration will take the form of one of two scenarios: either a consolidation of Maastricht, or its quick & sharp revision. D. M. Smith

Explores the contributions of a Weberian political sociology to understanding the dynamics behind European integration. It is shown that many features of the modern political landscape, most notably, Germany's soft power vis-a-vis other European nation-states, would have been recognizable by Max Weber. However, Weber would have found the role of Christianity in German culture, the hegemonic power of the US in the world system, & the global economy very puzzling. Faced with the circumstances of the post-WWI period, Weber championed a version of Mitteleuropa in which Germany would hold out the possibility of European integration as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with Russia & France. This solution is taken to be anachronistic for contemporary circumstances, in that it does not speak to the fundamental existential priority for Germany of the European Union. 78 References. D. M. Ryfe

Argues that the logic of European integration stems from a combination of global processes of production & exchange & a form of political organization at the regional/supranational level. Further, it is suggested that the particular form of this political organization has been conditioned by the unique historical conjuncture of the division of Europe after WWII into East & West, thus emphasizing global politico-strategic considerations & the challenge posed to the power of the ruling classes in Western Europe by the radicalized working classes. The conventional theory of European integration is described as ahistorical, & thus unable to explain the logic & roots of European integration. The Marxist theory of integration is employed to examine this historical process, with the careful acknowledgement that this theory unduly privileges macroissues concerning the economy at the expense of microanalysis of political processes. Avenues toward synthesizing these approaches into a new, more nuanced theory of European integration are briefly discussed. D. M. Smith

In this article, we present certain historical developments, problems & successes that have characterised Slovenia's process of joining the EC/EU. The article discusses the difficulties at the bilateral & multilateral level that Slovenia has been experiencing in its attempts to establish closer links with the EU. We examine the general & specific responses of the EU in the course of negotiating the different stages of accession. Slovenia's progress was much less depending on its own economic & political performances than on some discussed issues with neighbouring EU Member States & the multilateral framework of the accession strategy of the EU. The accession criteria do not constitute the only discourse of negotiations. Rather on the opposite, it seems that politics & sometimes certain national & other interests (especially Italy & Austria) prevailed in the negotiations on the acquis. At the end, the article deals with some dilemmas of public support for EU Membership. The gap between political elites & citizens was obvious since public opinion was shifting from a more to a less favourable opinion in the decade before 2001, although finally the trend reversed. Tables, Graphs, References.

Der Beitrag widmet sich der polnischen Debatte um die Zukunft der verfassungsmäßigen Basis für die europäische Integration. Die Analyse zeigt die wichtigsten Trends der Debatte auf den Ebenen der verschiedenen Akteure, wie der allgemeinen Öffentlichkeit, der akademischen Welt und der NGOs. Auf diese Weise sollen die Leitbilder Polens identifiziert werden, die für die zukünftige Entwicklung Europas wirksam werden könnten. Dabei geht der Beitrag auch auf politische Tradition und den geschichtlichen Hintergrund Polens ein sowie auf Polens spezifischen Status als Newcomer in der EU. Die politischen Einstellungen und Konzepte werden hinsichtlich der europäischen Institutionen und einzelner EU-Policies analysiert. (ICB2).