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The European Union and a Changing Europe: Establishing the Boundaries of Order
Author(s) -
Smith Michael
Publication year - 1996
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/j.1468-5965.1996.tb00558.x
Subject(s) - european union , politics , order (exchange) , political science , inclusion (mineral) , boundary (topology) , political economy , inclusion–exclusion principle , economic system , sociology , social science , international trade , economics , law , mathematical analysis , mathematics , finance
This article seeks to explore the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the changing European order, with particular respect to the ways in which the EU structures and shapes the boundaries between itself and the broader European arena. It evaluates a range of available international relations theories, and adopts a ‘critical neoliberal‐institutionalist’ approach to the problem. It applies this approach by assessing the EU's boundary‐constructing and boundary‐maintaining behaviour in a number of areas, before developing two models of the EU's role: the ‘politics of exclusion’ and the ‘politics of inclusion’. After spending most of its life practising the ‘politics of exclusion’, the EU has moved towards a ‘politics of inclusion’ to reflect the changing demands of the European order. Nevertheless, the tensions between the two types of politics will continue to be a central feature of the EU's role.