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Decline or Preservation of Executive Capacity? Political and Economic Integration Revisited[Note 1. Liesbet Hooghe, Erik Jones, and Thomas Koelble deserve special ...]
Author(s) -
Kurzer Paulette
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
jcms: journal of common market studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.54
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1468-5965
pISSN - 0021-9886
DOI - 10.1111/1468-5965.00049
Subject(s) - decentralization , politics , autonomy , state (computer science) , pace , economic integration , political science , government (linguistics) , european union , feature integration theory , public administration , economic system , political economy , economics , economic policy , law , geography , linguistics , philosophy , geodesy , algorithm , computer science , psychology , cognitive psychology
This article takes issue with the rational/intergovernmental approach to the study of European Union and integration by examining the impact of informal (global) integration on state capacity and executive autonomy in Belgium. Although intergovernmental arrangements occasionally serve to enhance policy capacity and executive capabilities, non‐governmental dynamics, which surpass the deliberate pace of Member State bargaining, erode national decision‐making authority. In Belgium, for example, regional integration sharpened economic disparities between the language communities and gave rise to a new generation of political leaders who took advantage of European institutions to promote decentralization of state functions and to restrict central government executive autonomy.