Between Playing Hardball and Accommodating Generously? The Terms of Enlargement for the Integration of the German Democratic Republic Into the European Community

Bibliographic Data

ID7837129
AuthorsAlexander Klein (0009-0006-0814-5302, University of Konstanz Konstanz, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume64
Issue1
Pages268-292
Publication date2026-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJCMS Journal of Common Market Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9886 • E-ISSN: 1468-5965
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jcms.13733
OpenAlexW4409777455
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited42

Do norms impact state action, or are they purely instrumental and subordinate to material interests? I approach this long‐standing debate by analysing the European Union's (EU) enlargement terms. When the prospect of enlargement arises, the EU faces the dilemma of minimising resulting financial implications while fulfilling normative obligations to support new members. Historically, the EU responded both by discriminating new members from benefits or by exempting them from obligations. I claim that understanding the determinants of enlargement requires bridging theoretical divides in European Studies. I argue that states' material interests and norms are equally influential, resulting in enlargement terms being painstakingly negotiated compromises balancing both. The analysis focuses on the German Democratic Republic's (GDR) integration into the European Community (EC), where the EU's dilemma between material and normative principles was particularly pronounced. The mixed‐methods analysis reveals nuanced enlargement terms with unprecedented exemptions, albeit of short duration

Archaeology · Business · Democracy · European union · Geography · German · International trade · Political science · Politics · Resizing · European and International Law Studies · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Law and Political Science

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