ARENA Working Papers 2004
ARENA working papers are pre-prints of research articles and chapters analysing and documenting new European order of Governance.
EU's External Policy: Are the Lilliputians Impotent or Potent? The Case of Crisis Management in the Amsterdam Treaty
This paper tests the explanatory power of a deliberative and an intergovernmental approach with regards to small state influence within the EU's external policy. It provides a detailed analysis of the Swedish-Finnish initiative on including crisis management in the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997.
Justice, Stability and Toleration in a Federation of Well-Ordered Peoples
In a time where Europeans reflect on how to reflect human rights and solidarity in the Constitutional Treaty, this paper develops a theory of federal justice to respond to some key issues. Aspiring to supplement Rawls’ Law of the Peoples, particular emphasis is put on the justification of differentiated human rights and distributive inequality in a federal order.
Europeanization of National Administrations: an Assessment of the Italian Antitrust Authority and Environment Agency Cases
A paper discussing the development of independent authorities and agencies in Italy and their interaction with national government and the European Commission. As is argued, direct relations between national agencies and EU institutions are often detrimental to government control.
Reflexive Integration in Europe
This paper discusses the usefulness of reflexive reason-giving as an approach to transnational and supranational systems of governance. It is argued that deliberation must be supplemented with law and trust as resources for collective action.
EU Institutions and the transformation of European-Level Politics – How to understand profound change (if it occurs)
The extent to which political cleavages are cross-cutting national boundaries is seen as an indicator of system transformation in the EU. In this paper cleavage patterns are seen as partly reflecting the EU's institutional architecture.
The Effects of EFTA Court Jurisprudence on the Legal Orders of the EFTA States
This paper gives an assessment of the EFTA Court at the tenth anniversary of its existence. It is argued here that from the point of view of national courts, ther is no discernible difference in jurisdiction between the EFTA Court and the European Court of Justice. Other factores, such as institutional and cultural legacies in the member states more significantly affect the supply of referrals from national courts.
The parliamentary challenge in the EU and the EEA: an increasing gap
During the last decade, national parliaments have left their status as ‘losers’ of European integration by attaining a more prominent role in the EU. Tracing this development, the paper argues that a gap has evolved between the EU and EFTA countries with regards to parliamentary influence; furthermore, this gap is likely to increase with the introduction of a Constitution for Europe.
Conceptualising the EU's social constituency
The purpose of this article is to heighten our understanding of the nature of the EUs
social constituency. This article develops a conceptual-methodological framework that will help us to identify the EUs social constituency and spell out its specific traits.
Legitimacy Theories of the European Union
This paper gives an evaluation of normative theory on the EU's legitimacy, taking the Maastricht Treaty and its public reception as point of departure.
De-configuring the European Union: A comparative approach
This article examines the question of the EU's uniqueness, with explicit reference to the EU as a case of transformation of or departure from the nation-state. To this end it applies a comparative framework with four strategies, the application of which to the EU yields a comprehensive test of the EU's uniqueness.
Unity, diversity and democratic institutions. What can we learn from the European Union as a large-scale experiment in political organization and governing?
In this paper the question of how to reconcile political unity and diversity, a classic problem of democratic theory, is applied to the evolving European polity. Specific emphasis is put on the dynamic behind voluntary cross-border cooperation and the consequences of such integration to the viability and democratic quality of constituent institutions.
Towards a post-national foreign and security policy?
This paper attempts to conceptualize the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy by moving beyond traditional (realist or rational choice) perspectives. The alternative conceptions discussed are those of the EU as an (i) identity-based or (ii) rights-based entity, each with separate implications for the pursuit of a common European policy.
The Mosaic of Europeanization. An Organizational Perspective on National Re-contextualization
Drawing on institutional theory and sociology, this paper attempts to explain the contradictory trends in EU integration and implementation. Divergence between different sectors and countries is perceived as reflecting organizational dynamics and national re-contextualisation, both insufficiently explained by traditional theories of integration.
A pious Europe? Why Europe should not define itself as Christian
The paper discusses Joseph Weiler’s proposition of including a reference to Europe’s Christian roots in the Constitution for Europe. By examining the common European heritage as well as comparing with existing European constitutions, it is argued that an explicit religious reference is misleading as well as counterproductive to the development of a common European identity.
The logic of appropriateness
This paper accounts for the logic of appropriateness, a perspective that sees human action as driven by rules of appropriate or exemplary behavior, embedded in institutions.
Social Mechanisms and the Quality of Cooperation: Are Europe and the EU Really All That Different?
Drawing upon a multi-faceted understanding of human rationality, this essay highlights the role of three generic social mechanisms - strategic calculation, cognitive role playing and normative suasion - in promoting differing degrees of cooperation within international institutions.
Democratic or jurist made law? On the claim to correctness
The paper is on Robert Alexy’s legal theory and its putative blurring of the distinction between legalization and application.
European Integration Since the 1990s: Member States and the European Commission
This paper evaluates the balance of power between member states and the Commission and observes that the former contrary to expectations enhanced their relative influence during the 1990s. On the basis of this observation, the paper gives a critique of neo-institutionalism and the multi-level governance perspective, which failed to predict member-state tenacity in this defining period.
Norge og EU-utvidelsen: forhandlinger og opinion
At the eve of the EU enlargement to central and eastern Europe, this article discusses the implications of enlargement to the European Economic Area. Focusing on the negotiations deciding the financial burden for ancient EEA states, the author attempts to explain the outcome by various factors - including the state of public opinion.
Innovasjon, politikk og institusjonell dynamikk
This article is an argument in the public debate on innovation and innovation policy; focus is directed towards institutional requirements and democratic concerns. A broader conception of innovation is applied than what is often the case in political/administrative argumentation. The paper is in Norwegian.
Conceptualizing European Public Spheres. General, Segmented and Strong Publics
This paper is about the development of an overarching communicative space that functions as a public sphere in Europe.
Organising Institutional Autonomy in a Political Context: Enduring Tensions in the European Commission's Development
The paper deals with how the Commission balances autonomy and accountability.
Changes to European Security in a Communicative Perspective
Based on a communicative perspective this article works out the theoretical possibility of a twofold change in European security; in the (i) referent object of security and in the (ii) understanding and practice of the best means to achieve security.