Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-qdpjg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-22T17:02:25.436Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Transcending or Descending? European Integration in Times of Crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2014

Zoe Lefkofridi  and
Philippe C. Schmitter
Zoe Lefkofridi*
Affiliation:
Max Weber Programme, European University Institute, Badia Fiesolana, Italy
Philippe C. Schmitter
Affiliation:
Department of Social & Political Sciences, European University Institute, Badia Fiesolana, Italy
*
*E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The European Union is at a make-or-break moment. The current crisis could be beneficial or detrimental for its future. We revisit Schmitter’s model of crisis-induced decision-making cycles (1970) and critically discuss why the current crisis might not be as benign as originally thought.

Keywords

European integrationneo-functionalismcrisis
Type
Research Article
Information
European Political Science Review , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 3 - 22
Copyright
© European Consortium for Political Research 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Almeida, D. (2012), The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Amato, G. and Mény, Y., (with Barbier, C. and Natali, D.) (2012), ‘Is the EU becoming more like than the UN? Paradoxes around Institutional Developments in 2011 and Risks for Future Integration’, in N. David and V. Bart (eds), Social Developments in the European Union 2011, Brussels: Etui Publishers, pp. 25–44.Google Scholar
Armingeon, K. and Ceka, B. (2013), ‘The loss of trust in the European Union during the great recession since 2007: the role of heuristics from the national political system’, European Union Politics 15(1): 82–107, doi: 10.1177/1465116513495595.Google Scholar
Arnold, C., Sapir, E.V. and Zapryanova, G. (2012), ‘Trust in the institutions of the European Union: a cross-country examination’, in L. Beaudonnet and Danilo Di Mauro (eds), 'Beyond Euro-skepticism: Understanding Attitudes towards the EU', European Integration online Papers (EIoP). Special Mini-Issue 2, Vol. 16. Retrieved 2 March 2013 from http://eiop.or.at/eiop/index.php/eiop/issue/view/30 Google Scholar
Barroso, J.M.D. (2012a), Speech at the European Parliament Plenary Debate on the European Council 28-29.06 Plenary session of the European Parliament, Strasbourg, July 3, European Commission SPEECH 12/518.Google Scholar
Barroso, J.M.D. (2012b), Speech by President Barroso to European Union Heads of Delegation Annual Conference of EU Heads of Delegation, EUSR and Chargés d'Affaires, Brussels, September 4. European Commission SPEECH/12/585.Google Scholar
Barroso, J.M.D. (2012c), State of the Union Address-Plenary session of the European Parliamen, Strasbourg, September 12, European Commission SPEECH 12/596.Google Scholar
Baun, M.J. (1995), ‘The Maastricht Treaty as high politics’, Political Science Quarterly 110(4): 605–624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bellamy, R. (2010), ‘Democracy without Democracy? Can the EU’s democratic ‘outputs’ be separated from the democratic ‘inputs’ provided by competitive parties and majority rule?’, Journal of European Public Policy 17(1): 2–19.Google Scholar
Busch, K., Hermann, C., Hinrichs, K. and Schulten, T. (2013), Euro Crisis, Austerity Policy and the European Social Model How Crisis Policies in Southern Europe Threaten the EU’s Social Dimension, Berlin: Friedrich Herbert Stiftung.Google Scholar
Chwieroth, J. (2007), ‘Neoliberal Economists and Capital Account Liberalization in Emerging Markets’, International Organization 61: 443–463.Google Scholar
Cooper, I. (2011), The Euro-Crisis as the Revenge of Neo-Functionalism, September 21. Retreived 23 September 2013 from http://euobserver.com/opinion/113682 Google Scholar
Die, W. (2012), Deutsche glauben nicht mehr an Europa, 17.09. 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012 from http://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article109261951/Deutsche-glauben-nicht-mehr-an-Europa.html Google Scholar
Draghi, M. (2012), For a European Public Space: Remarks on Receiving the M100 Media Award 2012, September 6, Potsdam. European Central Bank. Retrieved 11 September 2012 from http://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2012/html/sp120906.en.html Google Scholar
Dunn, T.N. (2012), ‘Neofunctionalism and the European Union: Neo-Functionalism Reflected the Political Dynamics in the Early Years of European Integration. In What Ways is it Still a Useful Approach Today?’, e-International Relations, November 28. Retrieved 23 September 2013 from http://www.e-ir.info/2012/11/28/neo-functionalism-and-the-european-union/ Google Scholar
Duverger, M. (1951), Les Partis Politiques, Paris: Armand Colin.Google Scholar
Edwards, E.E. (2008), Intra-party dissent over European Integration. Doctoral Dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Google Scholar
European Commission (2012), Fiscal Union. MEMO/12/483. June 25.Google Scholar
Eurostat (2012), News Release- Euro-Indicators, No. 101/2012, July 2. Retreived 22 July 2012 from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics#Further_Eurostat_information.Google Scholar
Future of Europe Group (2012), Final Report, September 17. Retrieved 25 September 2012 from http://www.msz.gov.pl/files/docs/komunikaty/20120918RAPORT/report.pdf Google Scholar
Haas, E.B. (1968), The Uniting of Europe, 2nd edn. Stanford/CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Haas, E.B. (1971), ‘The study of regional integration: reflections on the joy and anguish of pretheorizing’, in L.N. Lindberg and S.A. Scheingold (eds), Regional Integration: Theory and Research, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 3–44.Google Scholar
Hix, S. and Goetz, K. (2000), ‘Introduction: European Integration and National Political Systems’, West European Politics 23/4. Special Issue on Europeanized Politics? European Integration and National Political Systems, pp. 1–26.Google Scholar
Hooghe, L. and Marks, G. (2009), ‘A postfunctionalist theory of European integration: from permissive consensus to constraining dissensus’, British Journal of Political Science 39(1): 1–23.Google Scholar
Jabko, N. (1999), ‘In the name of the market: how the European Commission paved the way for monetary union’, Journal of European Public Policy 6(3): 475–495.Google Scholar
Johansson, K.M. and Raunio, T. (2001), ‘Partisan responses to Europe: comparing Finnish and Swedish political parties’, European Journal of Political Research 39: 225–249.Google Scholar
Ladrech, R. (2009), Europeanization and political parties’, Living Reviews in European Governance 4/1. Retrieved 20 September 2010 from http://europeangovernance.livingreviews.org/Articles/lreg-2009-1 Google Scholar
Le Figaro (2012), Vingt ans après Maastricht, les Français doutent toujours, September 16. Retrieved 23 September 2012 from http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/2012/09/16/01002-20120916ARTFIG00197-vingt-ans-apres-maastricht-les-francais-doutent-toujours.php Google Scholar
Lefkofridi, Z. (2009), National Party Response to European Integration: A Theoretical Framework & Evidence from Greece (1974–2007). Doctoral Dissertation, University of Vienna.Google Scholar
Lefkofridi, Z. and Kritzinger, S. (2008), ‘Battles fought in the EP arena: Developments in National Parties’ Euro-manifestos’, Austrian Journal of Political Science 37(3): 273–296.Google Scholar
Lynch, P. and Whitaker, R. (2013), ‘Where there is discord, can they bring harmony? Managing intra-party dissent on European integration in the conservative party’, The British Journal of Politics & International Relations 15: 317–339.Google Scholar
Mair, P. (2000), ‘The limited impact of Europe on national party systems’, West European Politics 23(4): 27–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mair, P. (2007), ‘Political opposition and the European Union’, Government and Opposition 42(1): 1–17.Google Scholar
Mair, P. and Van Biezen, I. (2001), ‘Party membership in twenty European democracies, 1980–2000’, Party Politics 7(1): 5–21.Google Scholar
Mattila, M. and Raunio, T. (2012), ‘Drifting further apart: national parties and their electorates on the EU dimension’, West European Politics 35(3): 589–606.Google Scholar
Mearsheimer, J. (1990), ‘Back to the future: instability in Europe after the cold war’, International Security 15(1): 5–56.Google Scholar
Niemann, A. and Schmitter, P.C. (2009), ‘Neofunctionalism’, in A. Wiener and T. Diez (eds), Theories of European Integration, 2nd edn., Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 45–66.Google Scholar
Pennings, P. (2006), ‘An Empirical Study of the Europeanization of National Party Manifestos, 1960–2003’, European Union Politics 7/2: 257–270.Google Scholar
Poguntke, T., Aylott, N., Carter, E., Ladrech, R. and Luther, K.-R. (2007), The Europeanization of National Political Parties, London & New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Reding, V. (2012a), A Vision for post-crisis Europe: a political Union. European Commission. Retrieved February 14, 2014 from http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/reding/pdf/20_en.pdf Google Scholar
Reding, V. (2012b), Observations on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the future of the European Union. XXV Congress of FIDE (Fédération Internationale pour le Droit Européen), Tallinn, May 31. European Commission SPEECH 12/403.Google Scholar
Reding, V. (2012c), A New Deal for Europe. Deutsche Bank's 13th Women in European Business Conference, Frankfurt, March 14. European Commission SPEECH/12/184.Google Scholar
Reif, K.-H. and Schmitt, H. (1980), ‘Nine second-order national elections – a conceptual framework for the analysis of European election results’, European Journal of Political Research 8(1): 3–44.Google Scholar
Scharpf, F. (1999), Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic? Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Schmitter, P.C. (1970), ‘A revised theory of regional integration’, International Organization 24(4): 836–868.Google Scholar
Schmitter, P.C. (1996), ‘Imagining the future of the Euro-Polity with the help of new concepts’, in G. Marks, F.W. Scharpf, P.C. Schmitter and W. Streeck (eds), Governance in the European Union, London: Sage, pp. 121–150.Google Scholar
Schmitter, P.C. (2000), How to Democratize the European Union...and Why Bother? Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Schmitter, P.C. (2005), ‘Ernst B. Haas and the Legacy of Neo-functionalism’, Journal of European Public Policy 12(2): 255–272.Google Scholar
Schmitter, P.C. (2012), ‘European disintegration? A way forward’, Journal of Democracy 23(4): 39–48.Google Scholar
Smith, M.P. (1997), ‘The commission made me do it. The European Commission as a strategic asset in domestic politics’, in N. Nugent (ed.), At the Heart of the Union. Studies of the European Commission, London: MacMillan.Google Scholar
Standard Eurobarometer (2011), Public Opinion in the European Union (Aggregate Report) No. 76. European Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012 from http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb76/eb76_en.htm Google Scholar
Standard Eurobarometer (2012), Public Opinion in the European Union (First results). No. 77. European Commission. Retrieved 18 September 2012 from http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb77/eb77_en.htm Google Scholar
Strache, H.-C. (2010), Entwicklung Europas. FPÖ Press Conference. June 24. Retrieved 29 August 2012 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9cvjkeGAkg Google Scholar
Thomassen, J. and Schmitt, H. (1999), ‘Issue congruence’, in H. Schmitt and J. Thomassen (eds), Political Representation and Legitimacy in the European Union, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 186–208.Google Scholar
Van der Eijk, C. and Franklin, M.N. (2004), ‘Potential for contestation on European matters at national elections in Europe’, in G. Marks and M.R. Steenbergen (eds), European Integration and Political Conflict, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 32–50.Google Scholar
Van Rompuy, H. (2012), Towards a genuine economic and monetary union-Report by President of the European Council, Brussels, June 26. EUCO 120/12.Google Scholar