Developing conceptualisations of Europeanization: synthesising methodological approaches

Abstract:

In its most explicit form Europeanization is conceptualised as the process of downloading European Union (EU) regulations and institutional structures to the domestic level. However, this conceptualisation has been criticised for its positivistic nature and extended in the literature in terms of up-loading, policy transfer, shared beliefs, fit/misfit etc., which led to the charge of ‘conceptual stretching’. Discussions have also centred on the similarities/differences between Europeanization and European integration and whether the former offers anything new to the analysis of the EU.

This paper mixes methodological approaches in terms of positivism and constructivism and examines the similarities/differences between Europeanization and European integration; overall it attempts to deal with ‘conceptual stretching’ and provide a working conceptualisation of Europeanization.