The plurality of truth : a critique of research on the state and European integration

Abstract

The relationship between the state and European integration is with good reason a central concern in current political sciences. Scholars approach it in different ways; some study how integration influences the state, others how the state influences integration. In answering the question of how the state and integration relate to each other, all of them deal with a problem which is particularly important because of its concrete implications, but which is also particularly difficult to resolve. The concrete empirical questions of what happens to the state in the process of integration, or what is the role of the state in that process, are essential for the understanding of the nature and functioning of the present European political systems. If the states' functions change, one can also expect changes in the political, administrative and judiciary systems and structures of the states. Changes in functions and practices can also be seen as amounting to gradual changes in political culture. Through changes in the role and nature of the state, the contents of citizenship as well as the forms of political participation may be expected to change. Finally, the understanding of democracy and identity will be modified. On the other hand, if the states guide the process of integration, they can be seen to do so on the basis of their own characteristics, being able to halt the process when they wish. The empirical relevance of the understanding of the relationship between the state and integration is, however, not based only on these long-term effects. In some situations, it has an immediate and decisive importance in political decision-making. Not least, a country's decision to join the European Union is based on an evaluation of the consequences of membership; the understanding of these consequences, then, depends on how the relationship between the state and integration is seen.