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Regulation Theory and the Political Economy of the European Union

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  • Hans-Jürgen Bieling
  • Johannes Jäger
  • Magnus Ryner

Abstract

European integration theory considers to what extent the EU can realize a telos where American pluralism is the template. Not without merits, but considering the financial and eurozone crises fatally, such perspectives elide power relations and attendant contradictions and irrationalities that are constitutive of transatlantic integration itself. Regulation theory, which synthesizes the reformist ethos of Europe's postwar statist tradition and Marxism, and which has produced a considerable body of analysis of the EU published at the margins of EU scholarship, offers a compelling alternative that potentially overcomes these shortcomings. This article critically assesses how regulation theory has interpreted the single market, financial liberalization and EMU as a suppression of alternatives to neoliberal post-Fordism, or finance-led accumulation, in Europe. It argues that understanding the EU's current conjuncture of eurozone crisis management requires a neo-Gramscian extension of regulation theory, stressing transnational patterns of capitalist accumulation and power relations.

Suggested Citation

  • Hans-Jürgen Bieling & Johannes Jäger & Magnus Ryner, 2016. "Regulation Theory and the Political Economy of the European Union," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 53-69, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jcmkts:v:54:y:2016:i:1:p:53-69
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/jcms.12331
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Ian Manners & Richard Whitman, 2016. "Another Theory is Possible: Dissident Voices in Theorising Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 3-18, January.
    5. Andreas Bieler, 2005. "European Integration and the Transnational Restructuring of Social Relations: The Emergence of Labour as a Regional Actor?," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 461-484, September.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Lartey, Theophilus & Uddin, Moshfique & Danso, Albert & Wood, Geoffrey, 2022. "CEO overconfidence and IRS attention," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    4. Heidebrecht, Sebastian, 2024. "Digital Policy and the Strengthened Role of the European Central Executive. An Introductory Overview," OSF Preprints kwrzg, Center for Open Science.
    5. Claes Axel Belfrage & Markus Kallifatides, 2018. "The politicisation of macroprudential regulation: The critical Swedish case," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(3), pages 709-729, May.

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