The Changing State. the Interplay of National Reforms and European Integration in Britain

Abstract

The effects of Conservative reform policy on the nature of the British State found a quite broad and intensive reception in the social sciences. Interestingly, the consequences on the British State tradition evolving from the ongoing process of European integration so far have not been analysed in such a consistent way. The aim of this paper is to examine the interplay of these two factors of influence, that is European integration and national reforms, in a closer view. It is assumed that these quite different developments cannot be analysed isolated from each other. With respect to both factors a complex interplay can be observed from which a very specific dynamic of political and administrative change in Britain emerges.