https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/17694 Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:53:27 GMT 2026-04-29T04:53:27Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22762 A Litmus Test for European Integration Theories Börzel, Tanja A.; Risse, Thomas This paper deals with two litmus tests for theories of European integration. The first part asks, how and to what extent various approaches can explain the contemporary crises of European integration. It thereby tackles the question whether European integration theories might have biased EU scholars towards ignoring evidence for (dis-)integration. While being more optimistic about the state of the Union than many EU scholars are, the paper argues for a more differentiated conceptualization of integration as a continuous variable that takes disintegration rather than stagnation or no integration as the opposite value of integration. The second part of the paper asks to what extent European integration theories are able to shed light on experiences with regionalism across the globe. It argues that they do provide plausible accounts for the emergence of regionalism around the world. Comparing regions points to important scope conditions under which European integration theories operate. When it comes to outcomes, however, they need to be complemented by explanations emphasizing diffusion to explain why and when states are more inclined to pool and delegate sovereignty in some regions than in others. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/22762 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/17787 A new society in the making Díez Medrano, Juan This paper connects with a recent and growing interest in the study of the societal impact of European integration and in the distinction of globalization and European integration effects. The paper uses the Eurobarometer study 67.1 to examine two related issues: 1) the segmentation of national social groups into “national” and “European” segments and 2) the contribution of the European integration process to this segmentation. Through statistical analysis, the author argues that there is some segmentation of national social groups and that this segmentation is more advanced at the level of consumer practices than at the level of identification and political attitudes and values. The author also contradicts prevailing beliefs in showing that although European integration underlies changes in the Europeanization of personal networks in general, its impact may have been greater, or at least as great, on the lower classes than on the middle classes. This paper proposes that the main mediating mechanism for this effect is the cheapening of opportunities for travel in Europe. 1\. Introduction 5 2\. Social Groups and Classes in the Literature on Europe 6 3\. A Needed Analytical Distinction: Europeanization and European Class Formation 7 4\. Data 8 5\. The Structural Basis of Europe‘s Middle Class 10 6\. Identification, Lifestyles, Openness, and Political Values 11 7\. European Integration and Social Segmentation 14 8\. Conclusion 15 Literature 17 Appendix 19 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/17787 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/18598 Appropriating the environment Meyer, Jan-Henrik Environmental policy has become an important area of European Union (EU) policy making, even though it had not originally been foreseen in the Treaty of Rome. Its emergence in the early 1970s can be understood as a result of a transfer of the novel policy idea of the environment to the European level. This paper thus inquires into the emergence of a European environmental policy from a diffusion of ideas perspective. Rather than focusing on multi-level policy making it seeks to trace the diffusion of environmental ideas from the level of international organizations to the European Communities (EC) in the early 1970s. It analyzes how and why these new concepts were taken up by the European Communities and adapted to the specific institutional framework of the EC. Starting with a brief introduction into the historical context, the paper first explores the origins of the notion of the environment as a political concept emerging in the context of international organizations at the time. Secondly, an analysis of the first Environmental Action Programme of 1973 will be used to show how the EC conceptualized the environment, including the definition of problems and potential remedies. Thirdly, the origins of these ideas will be traced back to international models, from the UNESCO conference “Man and the Biosphere” in 1968 onwards. In a final step, the paper tries to explain the diffusion and reception of ideas. It examines how these ideas were received by the EC, which actors were involved in this process, and which mechanisms of diffusion played a role. The goal is thus to make a contribution to the debate about the transnational diffusion of ideas. 1\. Introduction 5 2\. Conceptual Clarifications 7 2.1 Mechanisms of Diffusion 7 2.2 How to Analyze Environmental Ideas? 8 3\. Where Did Ideas about the Environment Come from? 9 4\. Which Ideas Were Adopted? The Environmental Action Programme of 1973 12 5\. Which International Models Did the EC Draw on? 15 5.1 UNESCO - Man and the Biosphere 1968 16 5.2 US - National Environmental Policy Act 1969 18 5.3 Council of Europe - European Conservation Year 1970 19 5.4 The UN Conference on the Human Environment 1972 20 5.5 Summary: Which Ideas were Included? 21 6\. How and Why Did the EC Receive and Appropriate Environmental Ideas? 23 7\. Conclusions 26 Literature 29 Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/18598 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19438 Assessing EU leadership on climate change Torney, Diarmuid The EU has for a long time claimed the title of “leader” in the international politics of climate change. However, existing research has generally failed to specify whether the EU’s purported leadership has induced the “followership” of other states. This working paper seeks to shed light on this somewhat neglected topic by examining the attempted diffusion of climate change norms, policies, and institutions by the EU to China and India. The paper makes two principal arguments. First, the development of Chinese and Indian climate change policy should be understood as primarily domestic developments. Nonetheless, there was limited evidence of diffusion from the EU, but there was significant variation between the Chinese and Indian responses to the EU’s diffusion attempts. The Chinese response was one increasing accommodation; the Indian response was a more straightforward case of resistance. Second, domestic factors help to explain the variation in the Chinese and Indian responses to EU attempts at diffusion and, related, the observed pattern of diffusion from the EU to China and India. Particularly important is the degree to which new external ideas and concepts resonate with pre-existing domestic ideas and concepts. The paper thus paints a picture of limited EU leadership, but also suggests that the EU attempts to secure “followership” could be enhanced by paying greater attention to the domestic politics and preferences of third countries. 1\. Introduction 5 2\. Diffusion and Domestic Politics 7 3\. European and Global Ideas Concerning Climate Change Mitigation 9 4\. Limited Socialization and Lesson-Drawing: The Development of Chinese Climate Change Policy 12 5\. Resistance to Diffusion: The Development of Indian Climate Change Policy 18 6\. Conclusions 23 Literature 25 Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19438 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z