A Europe of multiple flows

Contested discursive integration in trans-European transport infrastructure policy-making

Bibliographic Data

ID12317399
AuthorsDiego García-Mejuto (0000-0002-9410-370X, University College London, corresponding author), Diego García Mejuto (University College London, UK)
Year2016
Volume24
Issue4
Pages425-441
Publication date2016-09-23
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Urban and Regional Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0969-7764 • E-ISSN: 1461-7145
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0969776416663809
OpenAlexW2522149831
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited35

This paper presents an examination of the extent to which discursive integration is accompanying the European integration process, by focusing on the development of trans-European transport infrastructure networks. Because they facilitate movement across nation-state borders, these networks are central to European integration and have in fact constituted a key EU policy issue for more than two decades. Some authors have argued that their development has been driven by a hegemonic discourse that promotes the production of a ‘Europe of Flows’: a single, uniform space underpinned by a vision of ‘frictionless’ mobility through inter-city networks. However, the existence of such a discourse is questionable given the variety of rationales that may potentially influence the development of this type of infrastructure. Their claim is evaluated by means of an in-depth empirical study of the policy process surrounding a high-speed rail line of EU relevance in the Spanish region of the Basque Country. The analysis of the discursive constructions mobilized in this process indicates that the discourse on a ‘Europe of Flows’ is better conceptualized as one of the several storylines associated with different scales through which a wider hegemonic discourse is articulated. Whilst the heterogeneity of this discourse did not fundamentally contradict the development of a trans-European high-speed rail line, it did result in a policy compromise according to the influence the different coalitions were able to exert in the policy process. The analysis largely demonstrates the importance of considering the multi-scalar discursive landscape of policy-making in order to understand trans-European infrastructure development

Compromise · Discourse analysis · Economic geography · Economic system · Economics · European union · Hegemony · International trade · Linguistics · Order (exchange · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Relevance (law · Sociology · Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Political Systems and Governance

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