Politics in Timemeets the politics of time

Historical institutionalism and the EU timescape

Bibliographic Data

ID6289618
AuthorsBulmer (0000-0002-0915-1695, corresponding author), Simon Bulmer
Year2009
Volume16
Issue2
Pages307-324
Publication date2009-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of European Public Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1350-1763 • E-ISSN: 1466-4429
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13501760802589347
OpenAlexW2005474980
LanguageEN
Citations received38
References cited54

This article considers what light historical institutionalism (HI) may be able to shed on the European Union's (EU's) timescape. Drawing on Paul Pierson's work Politics in Time it reviews what HI has to say about the dual dynamics of path dependent incremental development and radical change (termed punctuated equilibrium or critical junctures) as well as relating to timing, sequencing and long-term processes. It then suggests three areas of EU studies for exploring these contrasting dynamics, namely the integration process as a whole, EU policy dynamics and Europeanization. Applications of HI in EU studies have tended to be empirical and have often neglected to engage with the temporal theorizing embraced by Pierson. The special issue's appeal for a new research agenda on the EU timescape offers the opportunity, it is argued, to rectify the insufficiency of theoretical reflection. Keywords: EU timescapeEuropeanizationhistorical institutionalismintegrationpolicy dynamics Notes I am grateful for comments received on the paper, including those from my colleague, Ian Bache. For a review of a range of the contributions, see also Mahoney and Rueschemeyer (2003) Mahoney, J. and Rueschemeyer, D. 2003. Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences, Edited by: Mahoney, J. and Rueschemeyer, D. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. In the context of EU studies, see, for instance, the limited attention paid to HI in Cini and Bourne (2006) Cini, M. and Bourne, A. 2006. Palgrave Advances in European Union Studies, Edited by: Cini, M. and Bourne, A. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], where a chapter is devoted to each of rational choice and sociological variants. Pollack includes historical institutionalism in three paragraphs within a chapter on rational choice approaches (2006 Pollack, M. 2006. "Rational choice and EU politics". In Handbook of European Union Politics, Edited by: J⊘rgensen, K. E., Pollack, M. and Rosamond, B. 31–55. London: Sage Publications. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]: 48–9), presumably a reflection of the prominence he gives to Paul Pierson's role in HI (see also Pollack 1996 Pollack, M. 1996. The new institutionalism and EC governance: the promise and limits of institutional analysis. Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration, 9(4): 429–58. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Hall and Taylor's proposition that HI might act as a bridge between two important approaches in political science has been contested by Hay and Wincott, who consider that calculus- and culture-based explanations have incompatible 'social ontologies' (Hay and Wincott 1998 Hay, C. and Wincott, D. 1998. Structure, agency and historical institutionalism. Political Studies, 46(5): 951–7. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]: 951). Indeed, they argue that HI has its own distinctive ontology. An important task in such analysis is devising generic criteria to enable identification of a critical juncture: a task not undertaken here. Monetary union followed on from policy co-operation on currency matters dating from the late 1960s. However, the physical introduction of the euro and the transfer of interest rate decisions to the European Central Bank represented a fundamental break with previous patterns of policy co-operation. For a preliminary institutionalist prospectus for such a study, see Bulmer (2008) Bulmer, S. 2008. "Building a multi-level polity in Europe". In The Organizational Dimension of Politics, Edited by: Sverdrup, U. and Trondal, J. 170–85. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget. [Google Scholar]. For instance, her exploration of the EP's role in the legislative process starts with the Treaty of Rome and culminates in the revisions proposed in the Constitutional Treaty of 2004 (Héritier 2007 Héritier, A. 2007. Explaining Institutional Change in Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]: 69–121). See Armstrong and Bulmer (1998) Armstrong, K. and Bulmer, S. 1998. The Governance of the Single European Market, Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Google Scholar] for exploration of the single market/Single European Act and developments in a set of case studies for the decade following the 1985 agreement on the single market White Paper. The 'Convention Method' that started the process leading to the Lisbon Treaty represented a new departure in the process, of course. Other individual contributions to understanding the timescape of integration from an institutionalist standpoint can be found in Sandholtz and Stone Sweet (1998) Sandholtz, W. and Sweet, A. Stone. 1998. European Integration and Supranational Governance, Edited by: Sandholtz, W. and Sweet, A. Stone. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] and Stone Sweet et al. (2001) Sweet, A. Stone, Sandholtz, W. and Fligstein, N. 2001. The Institutionalization of Europe, Edited by: Sweet, A. Stone, Sandholtz, W. and Fligstein, N. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. However, the empirical subject matter is very varied and the institutionalist perspectives differ across the authors. See, for instance, Susanne Schmidt's testing of historical institutionalist against rational choice institutionalist explanations of the practices of agenda-setting (Schmidt 2001 Schmidt, S. 2001. "A constrained Commission: the informal practices of agenda-setting in the Council". In The Rules of Integration, Edited by: Schneider, G. and Aspinwall, M. 125–46. Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Google Scholar]). Her findings emphasize that formal rules may be an insufficient basis for explanation. However, and this is not to criticize that paper, the time dimension is not explored. As an illustration, the Single European Act's introduction of what was then Article 118a (EEC Treaty) on health and safety offered a way to regulate maternity rights: an issue that had previously only been addressed through soft-law norms (see Armstrong and Bulmer 1998 Armstrong, K. and Bulmer, S. 1998. The Governance of the Single European Market, Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Google Scholar]: ch. 9). This discussion draws on Bulmer and Burch (2009, forthcoming Bulmer, S. and Burch, M. 2009, forthcoming. The Europeanisation of Whitehall: UK Central Government and the European Union, Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]: ch. 9). For a detailed examination of institutional adjustment in Germany and Spain, but predating the most recent developments in the latter, see Börzel (2002 Börzel, T. 2002. States and Regions in the European Union: Institutional Adaptation in Germany and Spain, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar

Appeal · Dual (grammatical number · Economic system · Economics · European union · Historical institutionalism · Institutionalism · New institutionalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Punctuated equilibrium · Sociology · European Union Policy and Governance · International Development and Aid · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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