THE POLITICS OF ENLARGEMENT: THE EU AND SOUTH EAST EUROPE
This project seeks to question the essentially normative basis/assumption of the impetus behind the enlargement process by focussing on South East Europe. It may be argued that in practice the accession process may lead to substantial ‘change’, whether this is defined as Europeanisation or transformation. But what this proposal wishes to explore is the idea that many decisions to enlarge, taken by the EU and its member-state, with the focus on South East Europe, are driven by interests of specific member-states which supersede the normative premises inherent in the conventional wisdom. In recent years, it has become increasingly less clear to outside observers that the process of accession is in fact highly politicised from start to finish. This project therefore aims to challenge the prevailing view that accession is an administrative process, driven primarily by normative concerns, by examining the interests and geopolitics behind decisions to enlarge, and the highly politicised way in which the European Union has managed enlargement in South East Europe. It will seek to show that high and low politics permeate the entire accession process. Crucially, in some cases, this politicisation can be justified, and produce beneficial outcomes. However, it will also show that in many cases politics has played a very negative role and undermined the European Union’s credibility.
Project Outcome
The primary output for this project will be a co-authored book (Economides and Ker-Lindsay). In addition, it is hoped that one or two co-authored articles may also be produced from the material collected during the research.