The Euro Crisis, European Identities, and Comparative Regionalism

Transgressing Disciplinary Boundaries

Prof. Dr. Tanja A. Börzel und Prof. Dr. Thomas Risse

Thomas RisseT 2

Solidarity in (Euro-) Crisis?

Thomas Risse 3

Conceptualizing Collective Identities

• Collectively shared social constructions linking individuals to social groups

• Multiple identities / Europeanization of collective identities: cross-cutting, nested (Russian doll), blended (marble cake)

• Content: sense of common purpose; „in-group/out-group“ distinction

• Contestation and strength

• „imagined communities“ and the problem of „psychological existence“

Thomas Risse 4

Dual Identities: 1992 – 2010

Thomas Risse 5

European Identities 2010

Thomas Risse 6

Solidarity among Strangers:1.Increase during euro crisis2.Denmark (71%), Sweden (67%), Netherlands (60%)3.Germany (54% – 44%)4.Southern Europe at about average!5.UK (45% - 50%)6.Eastern Europe below average!

Tanja A. Börzel 7

The End of Transformative Power Europe?

• Normative, civilian, transformative, or no power?

• Europeanization, governance transfer, diffusion

• Regional power vs. the power of regions

Tanja A. Börzel 8

Tanja A. Börzel 9

The End of Transformative Power Europe?

• Normative, civilian, transformative, or no power?

• Europeanization, governance transfer, diffusion

• Regional power vs. the power of regions

Tanja A. Börzel

Figure 1: Diffusion Mechanisms Following Direct Influence Model

Social mechanism and underlying theory of

social action

Promoter of Ideas (Sender)

Coercion

(force or legal imposition)

coercive authority (Herrschaft),

legal force

Manipulating utility calculations

(instrumental rationality)

(positive and negative) incentives and capacity-building

Socialization

(normative rationality)

promote ideas through providing an authorita-tive model (normative pressure)

Persuasion

(communicative rationality)

promote ideas as legitimate or true through reason-giving

Tanja A. Börzel 11

Figure 2: Emulation: Indirect Mechanisms of Diffusion

Underlying theory of social action Mechanism

Instrumental rationality Competition (functional emulation)

Lesson drawing (functional emulation)

Normative rationality Mimicry (normative emulation)

Tanja A. Börzel 12

The End of Transformative Power Europe?

• Normative, civilian, transformative, or no power?

• Europeanization, governance transfer, diffusion

• Regional power vs. the power of regions