Towards Convergence in Europe? Institutional Adaptation to Europeanization in Germany and Spain

Abstract

A number of studies suggest that European integration impacts upon the domestic institutions of the Member States by changing the distribution of resources among domestic actors. I argue in this article that resource dependency needs to be embedded in an institutionalist understanding of Europeanization in order to explain when and how Europe affects the domestic institutions of the Member States. First, domestic institutions determine the distribution of resources among the domestic actors in a given Member State. Second, the compatibility of European and domestic institutions determines the degree to which Europeanization changes this distribution of resources and hence the degree of pressure for institutional adaptation. Third, the domestic institutional culture determines the dominant strategies of actors by which they respond to such a redistribution of resources facilitating or prohibiting institutional adaptation. I demonstrate, my argument empirically by comparing the impact of Europeanization on the territorial institutions of Germany and Spain. I conclude with some considerations on whether we are likely to see convergence among the domestic institutions of the Member States.