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Constructivist approaches to European integration

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  • Jeffrey T. Checkel

Abstract

Constructivist approaches to the study of Europe are trendy. Deliberation, discourses, norms, persuasion, socialization, identity, arguing – such concepts and terms are now frequently invoked in debates over the past and future of the European project. As I argue in this essay, however, constructivism as applied to the European Union (EU) may have come of age too soon. In the rush to bring its insights to bear, important issues have been neglected – including meta-theory (an unclear epistemology), methods (taking the linguistic turn seriously), concepts (power’s underspecified role) and theory (domestic politics). For a relatively new research program, such problems are understandable. Indeed, they are not that hard to fix – especially if constructivists overcome their internal divisions, and simultaneously view the EU less as a sui generis political order and more as an exciting laboratory for exploring themes of relevance to the broader academic community.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey T. Checkel, 2006. "Constructivist approaches to European integration," ARENA Working Papers 6, ARENA.
    • Handle: RePEc:erp:arenax:p0217
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    Cited by:

    1. Virginie Mamadouh & Luiza Bialasiewicz & Zeynep Arkan, 2016. "Imagining ‘Europe’: Constituting Turkey's Identity on the Path to Eu Membership," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 107(2), pages 134-146, April.
    2. Christopher Lord, 2008. "Some indicators of the democratic performance of the European Union and how they might relate to the RECON models," RECON Online Working Papers Series 11, RECON.
    3. Sabine Saurugger, 2016. "Sociological Approaches to the European Union in Times of Turmoil," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 70-86, January.

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