ARENA Working Papers 2003
ARENA working papers are pre-prints of research articles and chapters analysing and documenting new European order of Governance.
Towards a Europeanised Public Sphere? Comparing Political Actors and the Media in Germany
On the assumption that integration from above must be accompanied by the creation of a European public sphere, the paper looks closer at debates of European issues in Germany. Analyses of political debates show that the media are quintessential actors in their own right – and especially so in their promotion of a European political space.
The Babel of Europe? An Essay on Networks and Communicative Spaces
This paper evaluates the putative development of a European public space, discussing to what extent a single communicative arena has been attained with regards to constitutional principle, governance and political outlook, with aspects of language and culture as potential barriers.
Still a Union of deep diversity? The Convention and the Constitution for Europe
What are the achievements of the Convention on the future of Europe? In the light of contrasting constitutional visions, the paper discusses whether the document produced by the Convention should be seen as constitutional treaty or constitution proper. It arrives at the conclusion that no unequivocal judgement can be made; however, the Convention makes certain qualitative leaps away from treaty towards constitutional patriotism.
Citizens, public administration and the search for theoretical foundations
This paper is a reproduction of the author's John Gaus lecture given in August 2003. Maintaining that a theory of administration must also be a theory of politics, it discusses the democratic tasks of public administration in serving the people rather than a ruling class.
Human Rights
What is the normative basis of a common European voice in foreign affairs? The article traces EU legitimacy in the consistent promotion of human rights, carrying normative power as well as an increasingly solid basis in international law.
Approach to European Law in Norwegian Legal Doctrine
Evaluating the influx of Europe on Norwegian legal doctrine, this article maintains that import of European legal traditions has a long pedigree in Norway. While fluctuating through history, however, Europeanization has taken on a new dimension during the last decade, with the growth of supranational Community law and human rights principles.
The EU and the Right to Self-Government
Assessing the attempts to forge a Constitution for Europe, this article focuses on the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. While clearly legitimate to a post-national democracy and the idea of a constitution, rights should nevertheless be right in the sense of resting on a popular-discursive consensus.
On a clear day you can see the EU": Case Study Methodology in EU Research
What are the merits of case studies in research on the EU, and how may such studies by systematised? This article gives a broad account of case study research of the EU and points out some of the challenges that lie ahead.
Social Constructivisms in Global and European Politics (A Review Essay)
This article,written as a review of three contributions on social constructivism, is equally conceived as an evaluation of this approach with regards to its usefulness to IR theory. While admitting that social constructivism has added important insights, it is nevertheless argued that there are important lacunaes to be filled and unclarities to be clarified.
A Polity without a State? European Constitutionalism between Evolution and Revolution
This papers considers the European constitution-making process in the light of three perspectives of constitutional legitimacy. The evolving treaty, it is claimed, is legitimate in the sense of being (i) functional and (ii) power-constraining. Constitutional legitimacy, however, may also require a (iii) power-establishing or revolutionary character; according to this third perspective, the EU constitutional process does not fully answer the demands of legitimacy.
Defining European Interests in Foreign Policy: Insights from the Mediterranean Case
Based on insights from the Mediterranean case, this paper discusses under what requirements an issue grows to salience as a common European initiative in the foreign policy domain.
Three conceptions of the European Constitution
The paper discusses different ways of perceiving the European Constitution, each carrying implications for debates on its legitimacy. It is argued here that debates on the Constitution must take into account the normative side of the process, drawing the pertinence and evolution of fundamental norms centre stage.
The Nordic Countries and the EU: How European Integration Integrates and Disintegrates States Domestically
The paper discusses the effects of European integration on national administrations. Focusing on the Nordic countries, it is found that both an intergovernmental and an organizational perspective have something to contribute to our understanding of Europeanization.
Security and defence
This paper investigates the claim of a twofold change in European security and defence - regarding (i) the referent object and (ii)the best means to achieve security. To approach this issue area the concept of communicative rationality is suggested as a possible device.
Understanding the Common Foreign and Security Policy: Analytical Building Blocs
How should one perceive of the efforts to strengthen the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the EU? This paper considers this development in the light of political theory, concluding that interest-based political realism must be supplemented by a deliberative perspective to take full account of the strenghtened foreign policy capabilities of the EU.
Compliance and style of conflict management in Europe
This paper discusses the varying degree of implementation and compliance with international norms, taking EU and EFTA legislation as centre of analysis. Looking closer at the form of resolution when international norms conflict with national law, it is found that domestic traditions and political culture have considerable bearing on the efficiency of implementation - more so than any power of enforcement at the European level.
Parties and Cleavages in the European Political Space
In its hybrid form, the EU represents a novel political space; this paper discusses the evolving European party system in the light of historical and comparative parallels. By commenting on the present state and suggesting some predictions for the future, the paper thus invites to a critical reflection on the mechanisms creating and sustaining different sorts of cleavage-based party systems.
Does the European Union Transform the Institution of Diplomacy?
How and to what extent is traditional inter-state diplomacy challenged by the evolving of Europe? This paper assesses the changing role of national diplomats by way of novel institutionalist insights.
The European Charter - Between deep Diversity and Constitutional Patriotism?
This paper discusses what kind of allegiance the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights might be based upon. Raising the issue of constitutional patriotism, on which similar documents have typically been built in the past, the author argues that recognition of Europe's deep diversity makes a better foundation for allegiance to the Charter.
Towards Finality? A preliminary assessment of the achievements of the European Convention
This paper assesses the preliminary achievements as well as the potential of the Convention installed to draw a framework for the future of the European Union.
Taxing Europe: Two cases for a European power to tax (with some comparative observations)
Discussing the argument that the EU should hold a European taxation power, the author finds this claim to be fully justifiable on an empirical as well as a normative basis. Legally mandated by Community law, EU taxation is also normatively desirable from the point of view of European public space and the redistributive requirements of an enlarged Europe.
The many faces of EU committee governance
This paper presents the results of a unique empirical study on committe identity and allegiance. One of the observations is that while multiple allegiance is a universal feature of committe work, the relative weight of national, supranational and sectoral loyalties vary systematically between Council and Commission committees.
The rights’ foundations of solidarity: Social and economic rights in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
European integration has, it is often argued, beenmarked by a bias towards market freedoms to the detriment of social values and rights. This paper discusses to what extent the Charter of Fundamental Rights is a step towards redressing this inbalance by introducing a social fundament to the market values hitherto conceived.