Cross pillar politics of the European Union. EU actors and the centralisation of foreign and interior policies.

Stetter, Stephan Erich (2004) Cross pillar politics of the European Union. EU actors and the centralisation of foreign and interior policies. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

The pillar structure of EU politics dates back to the Maastricht Treaty and has since then been subject to several reforms but has never been formally abolished. According to a standard view, there is a fundamental distinction between the allegedly 'supranational' first pillar and the 'intergovernmental' second and third pillars. This standard view asserts that policy making in foreign and interior affairs - those areas which are partly located in each of these pillars - also follows two different institutional logics. This thesis proposes a different perspective on foreign and interior policies and analyses the role of EU actors - the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council Secretariat, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors - in these two areas. It argues that policy making is not primarily characterised by the supranational-intergovernmental divide but rather by functionally induced cross pillar dynamics applying equally to both policy areas. It shows that EU actors were able to shape 'intergovernmental' bargains and that the primary division in foreign and interior policies is not on the supranational-intergovernmental dimension but rather between executive actors and those controlling the executive. Middle East and migration policies serve as case studies for this analysis. The thesis shows that both areas have since the Maastricht Treaty become an integral part of the political system of the EU. Moreover, the centralisation process in foreign and interior policies, which stretches beyond the pillar confines, has consolidated the specific functional feature of both areas. It is argued that both areas constitute one policy type, referred to as macro political stabilisation. The functional dynamics of macro political stabilisation policies affect the way in which capabilities have been delegated to EU actors within the cross pillar institutional setting of EU foreign and interior policies. Moreover, the preferences of actors as well as the specific patterns of interaction in the policy making process also have to be understood against this functional background.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Political Science, International Law and Relations
Sets:	Collections > ProQuest Etheses Departments > Government
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/2524

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