Over the last 30 years Britain has consistently supported the enlargement of the European Union (EU). Both the former Conservative, and the current Labour governments have always presented favourable rhetoric for the ‘widening’ of the EU. This apparent consensus on European policy belies the fractious nature of opinions in Britain over the future of Europe. The rough undercurrents of Britain’s contingent support for the intergovernmental vision of the EU reflects just how complex and protracted the political discourse on Europe has become.
We often refer to ‘Britain’ as a single actor, but references to Britain are simply a convenient abbreviation used to represent the dominant political discourse of the elites, such as the political majority in Westminster or the Civil Servants in Whitehall (George 1994: Preface V). Britain’s policy regarding the future of Europe has been a compromise between at least two conflicting discourses, played out in the British establishment. Over the course of this essay I will explain how these schools of thought have shaped the debate over Britain’s vision of Europe
This essay will proceed in the following steps, first an examination of the eurosceptic narrative. Discussing how the touchstone issue of national sovereignty has stymied support for the European project from its inception, putting British nationalist in opposition to the federal supranational Europe. Second, looking at how Britain, unlike many other continental European nations, has consistently failed to develop a Europeanised national identity, that further exacerbates British exceptionalism. Finally, I argue that the neoliberal position, which has often been in contradiction to the exceptionalist discourse, has led to a compr...
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The United Kingdom, in the next year the people will get a chance to choose their countries’ fate in whether the United Kingdom should leave the European Union. What makes this important is that it would be the first country to leave the European Union in a time when other European countries are either in negotiation or planning to join so it would be a big deal as the United Kingdom is Europe’s third largest economy. As the people are about to vote on their future, there are concern as what would be the economical, social, and political consequences while for some what would be the benefit if the United Kingdom leave. Today In the next paragraphs I would explore the United Kingdom in the European Union and the Political economical and social
Hewitson, Mark, and Matthew D'Auria. Europe in Crisis: Intellectuals and the European Idea, 1917-1957. New York: Berghahn Books, 2012.
Both the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) are strategies developed by the European Union in regards to their dealings with the ‘outside’ world. The European Neighborhood Policy finds its obstacles in the once superpower of the Russians, and their conflicting neighborhood policy. Whereas the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy finds its obstacles through its numerous memberships which on the outside one would consider a boon of combined knowledge, but when their insurmountable differences become involved it is a burden. The European Union unfortunately has become known for being a hypocritical organization, playing the mantra ‘do as I say not as I do’. Moreover, the European Union takes its power for granted and assumes “itself as a superior embodiment of soft power and a model of peace, democracy and prosperity in the region.” After the Cold War, the EU set out to develop a new phase of expansion and integration. One of the topics related to the process of European Union integration is the concern of a European Identity, and what it means to be ‘European’. The EU has struggled to define itself as a “Multicultural community sharing a set of universal values” , conversely defining what it means by ‘multiculturalism’ has become the center of political conflict within its governments. The conundrum may be if the European Union wants to keep the European feeling, then why should it bring in a country that is not European? But then again what is European? The debate over this term is one that surrounds the history of Europe and the possible futures available for the European Union. Is the EU or any nations allowed within it defined by the geographic constructs shown on th...
The European Union (EU), since the initial foundation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and throughout periods of development, has been considered one of the most advanced forms of regional integration. It, based on numerous treaties and resolutions, has strived to promote values such as peace, cooperation or democracy, and in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having “contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe” (Nobel Media AB, 2012). Despite its struggle for promoting democracy, the EU itself has long experienced scholarly criticisms that it suffers the democratic deficit, from which its democratic legitimacy is undermined by observable problems in political accountability and participation. As the importance of legitimacy in a democratically representative institution is hardly debatable, the criticism of whether and why the EU lacks democracy has been given a considerable gravity in academia.
...: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 603-24.
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The most significant and challenge to the traditional view of parliamentary sovereignty was Britain’s membership of the European Community in 1972. The European Communities Act 1972 brought with it the requirement that European Law be given priority over domestic courts over conflicting issues of national law. This notion was a direct affront to parliamentary sovereignty, which required that if a later statute, contradicted and earlier statute, which sought to incorporate European Law into English Law, then the later statute should impliedly repeal the earlier statute. Therefore the European Communities act imposed a substantive limit on the legislative ability of subsequent Parliaments.
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On the one hand, without international relations from the EU, Britain is economically and socially vulnerable. While Britain’s exit from the EU may define Britain’s power according to British citizens, the type of power that matters is relative power, which is the power when it is being compared to other states. If the other states do not recognize Britain as a force of power, then its exit from the EU is pointless. On the other hand, by discontinuing the benefits granted by the EU, Britain declines the assistance that could have helped the country to become more powerful. In other words, Brexit decreases a source of gathering power for Britain, since the EU not only offers economic opportunities, but it also provides useful information so that the member states can behave accordingly. Overall, realism suggests that while Brexit increases Britain’s confidence in being powerful, it also decreases the country’s power in a way.
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 has been termed as the largest single expansion of the EU with a total of 12 new member states – bringing the number of members to 27 – and more than 77 million citizens joining the Commission (Murphy 2006, Neueder 2003, Ross 2011). A majority of the new member states in this enlargement are from the eastern part of the continent and were countries that had just emerged from communist economies (EC 2009, Ross 2011), although overall, the enlargement also saw new member states from very different economic, social and political compared to that of the old member states (EC 2009, Ross 2011). This enlargement was also a historical significance in European history, for it saw the reunification of Europe since the Cold War in a world of increasing globalization (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). For that, overall, this enlargement is considered by many to have been a great success for the EU and its citizens but it is not without its problems and challenges (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). This essay will thus examine the impact of the 2004/2007 enlargements from two perspectives: firstly, the impact of the enlargements on the EU as a whole, and thereafter, how the enlargements have affected the new member states that were acceded during the 2004/2007 periods. Included in the essay will be the extent of their integration into the EU and how being a part of the Commission has contributed to their development as nation states. Following that, this essay will then evaluate the overall success of the enlargement process and whether the EU or the new member states have both benefited from the accessions or whether the enlargement has only proven advantageous to one th...
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This essay will describe the characteristics of the modern nation-state, explain how the United States fits the criteria of and functions as a modern nation-state, discuss the European Union as a transnational entity, analyze how nation-states and transnational entities engage on foreign policy to achieve their interests, and the consequences of this interaction for international politics.