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The Future of Sovereignty in Multilevel Governance Europe ‐ A Constructivist Reading

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  • Tanja E. Aalberts

Abstract

Multilevel governance presents a depiction of contemporary structures in EU Europe as consisting of overlapping authorities and competing competencies. By focusing on emerging non‐anarchical structures in the international system, hence moving beyond the conventional hierarchy/anarchy dichotomy to distinguish domestic and international arenas, this seems a radical transformation of the familiar Westphalian system and to undermine state sovereignty. Paradoxically, however, the principle of sovereignty proves to be resilient despite its alleged empirical decline. This article argues that social constructivism can explain the paradox, by considering sovereign statehood as a process‐dependent institutional fact, and by showing that multilevel governance can feed into this process.

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  • Tanja E. Aalberts, 2004. "The Future of Sovereignty in Multilevel Governance Europe ‐ A Constructivist Reading," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1), pages 23-46, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:42:y:2004:i:1:p:23-46
    DOI: 10.1111/j.0021-9886.2004.00475.x
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    1. Gary Marks & Liesbet Hooghe & Kermit Blank, 1995. "European Integration and the State," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 7, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).
    2. Hooghe, Liesbet & Marks, Gary, 2001. "Types of Multi-Level Governance," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 5, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jussi Laine, 2013. "Building a Transnational Space for Action," International Studies, , vol. 50(1-2), pages 184-202, January.
    2. Tanja E. Aalberts, 2005. "Sovereignty Reloaded? A Constructivist Perspective on European Research," The Constitutionalism Web-Papers p0010, University of Hamburg, Faculty for Economics and Social Sciences, Department of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Science.
    3. Samsonova-Taddei, Anna & Humphrey, Christopher, 2015. "Risk and the construction of a European audit policy agenda: The case of auditor liability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 55-72.
    4. Liisa Laakso, 2005. "Beyond the Notion of Security Community: What Role for the African Regional Organizations in Peace and Security?," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2005-52, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Geys, Benny & Konrad, Kai A., . "Federalism and optimal allocation across levels of governance," Chapters in Economics,, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    6. Richardson, Alan J., 2009. "Regulatory networks for accounting and auditing standards: A social network analysis of Canadian and international standard-setting," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 571-588, July.

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