The Council of Europe: The Institutional Limits of Contemporary European International Society?

This article traces the historical development of the Council of Europe and its role in post-enlargement Europe. The evolving structures and functions of the organization demonstrate an ongoing commitment to a homogeneous European regional international society. It is argued that the Council of Europe's liberal norm socialization process is incomplete and that this process is essential to the organization's legitimacy as well as for the deepening of European Regional International Society, particularly in the face of non-compliant member states and the complementary work of the European Union. In the post-enlargement era, the Council of Europe has established itself as an important component of a historical project of Europeanization.