lundi, novembre 08, 2004
immersed in European politics
I know I'm all about school stuff and maybe it's boring to some people. But school is my life right now. A very one-dimensional existence, annoying as it is.
So here we go. I'm reading through a ton of scholarly journals with my question in mind: does the European Union undermine state sovereignty? and, as mentioned, this becomes a multi-layered issue pretty quickly.
You start by defining "sovereignty". Blah blah the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region or group of people... (think George Bush over Iraq).
But then you get to a more challenging question: just WHAT is the European Union anyway, and what are its goals? I'm having a tougher time with this one - I mean, there are the obvious reasons like a common market, common currency, then some of the protectionist-type stuff like the Common Agricultural Policy, etc. And I believe they're moving toward a common defense policy, common foreign policy and common immigration policies. Common common common...!
So, does having all these common policies in place undermine the role of the state...?
That's when you get into how the policies are developed and agreed to by the Member States. They're S-O consensus-oriented, these guys. Deliberative democracy, "Europe of the Regions", cohesion policy...
So I've read entire papers that debate just what type of state-system the European Union falls under. Are they some type of supra-state? Are they a "federation" of nations with a fancy new version of multilevel governance? Who is accountable, at the end of the day, since members of the European Commission aren't actually elected by the citizens of the Member States?
Also, the European Union depends on its members to enforce EU policies. The EU itself does not have a police force or an army. AND, the word is, with this new constitution they're ratifying, any state has the choice to OPT OUT of the union. Sounds like you've still got sovereignty there.
Is sovereignty a fluid concept? Can you give it away (i.e. to the EU) and then just re-assert it down the road should you so choose...? In that case, is there another word for it?
Did you know that the EU has its own flag? and national anthem? If it isn't a state in itself, why these symbolic identifiers...?
See how this is deteriorating into some type of theoretical examination...? I think Bill might just be looking for lower-level stuff like "France's sovereignty is undermined by the EU's healthcare initiatives".
W/e. Let's dive in. | ¶ 11:49 p.m.
So here we go. I'm reading through a ton of scholarly journals with my question in mind: does the European Union undermine state sovereignty? and, as mentioned, this becomes a multi-layered issue pretty quickly.
You start by defining "sovereignty". Blah blah the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region or group of people... (think George Bush over Iraq).
But then you get to a more challenging question: just WHAT is the European Union anyway, and what are its goals? I'm having a tougher time with this one - I mean, there are the obvious reasons like a common market, common currency, then some of the protectionist-type stuff like the Common Agricultural Policy, etc. And I believe they're moving toward a common defense policy, common foreign policy and common immigration policies. Common common common...!
So, does having all these common policies in place undermine the role of the state...?
That's when you get into how the policies are developed and agreed to by the Member States. They're S-O consensus-oriented, these guys. Deliberative democracy, "Europe of the Regions", cohesion policy...
So I've read entire papers that debate just what type of state-system the European Union falls under. Are they some type of supra-state? Are they a "federation" of nations with a fancy new version of multilevel governance? Who is accountable, at the end of the day, since members of the European Commission aren't actually elected by the citizens of the Member States?
Also, the European Union depends on its members to enforce EU policies. The EU itself does not have a police force or an army. AND, the word is, with this new constitution they're ratifying, any state has the choice to OPT OUT of the union. Sounds like you've still got sovereignty there.
Is sovereignty a fluid concept? Can you give it away (i.e. to the EU) and then just re-assert it down the road should you so choose...? In that case, is there another word for it?
Did you know that the EU has its own flag? and national anthem? If it isn't a state in itself, why these symbolic identifiers...?
See how this is deteriorating into some type of theoretical examination...? I think Bill might just be looking for lower-level stuff like "France's sovereignty is undermined by the EU's healthcare initiatives".
W/e. Let's dive in. | ¶ 11:49 p.m.
