International Institutions and Socialization in Europe

Since the path-breaking work of Karl Deutsch on security communities and Ernst Haas on European integration, it has been clear that international institutions may create senses of community and belonging beyond the nation state. Put differently, they can socialize. Yet the mechanisms underlying such dynamics have been unclear. This volume explores these mechanisms of international community building, from a resolutely eclectic stand point. Rationalism is thus the social theory of choice for some contributors, while others are more comfortable with social constructivism. This problem-driven perspective and the theoretical bridge building it are the cutting edge in international relations theory. By providing more fined-grained arguments on precisely how international institutions matter, such an approach sheds crucial light on the complex relationship between states and institutions, between rational choice and social constructivism, and, in our case, between Europe and the nation state.

• Features essays from eight prominent international political scientists, from six countries across two continents • Empirically rich essays about the international institutions in Europe and beyond • Offers counterintuitive findings on key EU institutions, which should appeal to Europeanists and students of the European Union

Part I. International Institutions as Community Builders: 1. International institutions and socialization in Europe: introduction and framework Jeffrey T. Checkel; Part II. The Socializing Power of European Institutions?: 2. Strategic calculation and international socialization: membership incentives, party constellations and sustained compliance in central and eastern Europe Frank Schimmelfennig; 3. Several roads lead to international norms, but few via international socialization: a case study of the European Commission Liesbet Hooghe; 4. Multiple embeddedness and socialization in Europe: the case of council officials Jan Beyers; 5. The Janus face of Brussels: socialization and everyday decision making in the European Union Jeffrey Lewis; 6. Security institutions as agents of socialization? NATO and the ‘New Europe’ Alexandra Gheciu; Part III. Critique, Conclusions and Extensions: 7. Conclusions and extensions: toward mid-range theorizing and beyond Europe Alastair Iain Johnston; 8. Getting socialized to build bridges: constructivism and rationalism, Europe and the nation-state Michael Zürn and Jeffrey T. Checkel.