Suchergebnisse

The paper discusses the usefulness of the concept of empire in the study of the European Union, the integration process and the development EU's external relations. In order to do so, it reflects critically on the use of this concept in the broader context of contemporary polities and selected European empires of the past. The paper argues that colonial empires are just one type of empires and that another type should be given more scholarly attention. In order to account for the diversity of imperial patterns observed, the paper suggests using two concepts, inwards imperial governance and outwards imperial governance. Using these two concepts instead of one undifferentiated concept of empire makes it possible to shed a different light on the EU's alleged empirehood and its evolution over time. It also offers an analytical tool that can account for differences between different empires of the past as well as between contemporary candidates for empirehood and past empires. ; Funded by the European Research Council (ERC) within the 7th Framework Programme, the BORDERLANDS project is hosted at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, and directed by Professor Raffaella A. Del Sarto.

AbstractThis article tests the theory of representative bureaucracy on the Commission's 2004 enlargement staff policy. It concludes that this policy matches the criteria of bureaucratic representativeness, which opens a reflection both on the political legitimacy and on the instruments of representation in the EU.