Has Neofunctionalism Been Superseded By A New 'Liberal Intergovernmentalism" As Currently The Most Convincing Theoretical Explanation of European Political Integration?

Has Neofunctionalism Been Superseded By A New 'Liberal Intergovernmentalism" As Currently The Most Convincing Theoretical Explanation of European Political Integration? From an ambitious project originally envisaged to remove the catastrophe of war from such a war-torn continent, the European project has proceeded in 'fits and starts'. Since its inception, there has been much debate regarding what forces drive the integration process forward. Why now, when interstate war in Europe seems impossible, do member states continue to 'pool' their sovereignty in so many areas? Two theories have dominated previous attempts to answer the question of "how and why states cease to be wholly sovereign, how and why they voluntarily mingle, merge and mix with their neighbours, so as to lose the factual attributes of sovereignty."1 Neofunctionalism, the idea that the integration process, once started, develops its own momentum for further integration, saw the height of popularity in the 1960s, following the initial success of the ECSC/EEC and the hugely influential theoretical explanation by Ernst Haas. The second theory, Liberal Intergovernmentalism, surfaced in the 1990s and was championed by Andrew Moravcsik. It saw flaws in neofunctionalist thinking and instead offered an alternative account in which the integrative process was always, and remains, in the hands of national governments;

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 5436
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Social studies
Access this essay

Outline how and why federalism has changed since the 1960s.

Page 1 of 2 Outline how and why federalism has changed since the 1960s. In the 1960s, the government had a creative federalist approach. The aim of Lynden Johnson's Great society programmes was to try to eliminate poverty within the US. This in turn meant large government grants were given to states, which was seen to increase the level of interference from the federal government. Johnson also provided categorical grants instead of block grants, which meant the states had much less control over their spending. He also supplied a lot of federal aid, increasing the dependence of states on the federal government. It wasn't just the executive increasing the role; the judiciary were also pushing the government this way, with cases such as Gideon vs. Wainwright and Miranda vs. Arizona. Since the 1960's the some have stated that New Federalism has been the main objective of the executive and judiciary due to the previous creative federalism. From the 1970s there was an ideological shift, with the rejection of liberal values from the 1960s. President Nixon started the development of the idea that the federal government was too powerful, and that the states needed to have more power of their local rights. He felt that the federal government should be small to promote self reliance and the American idea of 'rugged individualism'. As a reaction to creative federalism and the great

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1289
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
Access this essay

Population Case Study - Japan

Sasha Zouev Geography IB, 13/09/05 IB Case Study: Japan (MEDC) Population, Distribution, Density Introduction: Japan is a great example of an MEDC with a particular population pattern and distribution. The country, located on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean lies to the east of Asia and is made up of about 3,000 smaller islands. There are several large main islands including, from top to bottom, Hokkaido, Honshu (the biggest), Shikoku and Kyushu. Japan is also interestingly rated 10th in the world by population count and has an area of about 377,835 km². The aim of this case study is to examine, section by section, the different factors that affect Brazilian population growth and distribution by looking at areas such as geographical positioning, politics, history, and generate some sort of conclusion Distribution: Japan's population is mostly concentrated alongside the south and west coast (figure 1). Japan's population density is ranked 18th in the world, and has assisted in advertising very expensive land prices. From the years 1980 to 1987, prices of land in the six largest cities nearly doubled. This prevents many poorer families from ever purchasing or renting housing in the central cities. Because of this, daily transportation for many workers became a real lengthy hassle. For example some daily commuters had to travel up to four hours total to reach

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1175
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Geography
Access this essay

Outline and Evaluate Hardin's 'Lifeboat Ethics'.

Outline and Evaluate Hardin's 'Lifeboat Ethics'. In 'Lifeboat Ethics', Hardin puts forward an argument against helping the poor. He claims that the nations of the earth may be seen as a series of lifeboats with limited resources. The richer nations are well-managed and self-sufficient, whilst the lifeboats of the poorer countries are overburdened and overcrowded, so many of their people have fallen out and are in the sea around the richer lifeboats begging to be let in or given handouts. However, the lifeboats of the richer nations are limited in resources and do not have space to allow anyone else in. Whilst it may appear just to rescue the poorer people from the water or share wealth with them, this would result in disaster. The 'boat' would sink or the resources would run out, meaning that everyone would drown. Hardin thus argues that his metaphor demonstrates that, overall, it would be disastrous to help the poor; the world's resources would be exhausted and no-one would survive. However, it can be demonstrated that Hardin's argument fails on several grounds. Not only are many of the assumptions made by Hardin questionably accurate, the lifeboat metaphor itself is too. Hardin fails to represent the situation and the effects of his proposals as they truly are and his argument remains unconvincing. Indeed, by demonstrating his metaphor to be mistaken, it is possible to

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1338
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
Access this essay

Assess the successes and failures of Mussolini's domestic policy.

Assess the successes and failures of Mussolini's domestic policy. Mussolini's primary aim in 1919 when he came into power was to fascitise the Italian nation as a whole, young and old; he wanted his nation to be utterly committed and disciplined towards the new fascist state rather than being passive and going along with everyone else. To achieve this goal, Mussolini set about trying to influence and ultimately change make domestic establishments more 'fascist', that is, to follow the principles of a very right-wing, nationalist totalitarian state in which the 'Duce is always right' and in which the principles of 'Believe, Obey, Fight' are considered paramount. Mussolini attempted to alter Church-state relations, to create the perfect fascist woman, to fascitise the educational system and the youths of Italy, to change Italy's economic and political structure, and to create a nation that would be respected by other nations, by using his strategies of the 'battle for land, grain and births' and by proving the strength of the nation through sporting achievements. However, Mussolini's policies failed to unite the country and fascitise the nation as a whole; his economic polices were disastrous, Italy was fairly weak politically, and women and teenagers failed to be heavily affected by a fascist state; Mussolini did handle the Church-State relations well however but in the

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 2583
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
Access this essay

Referring to both pharmaceutical and tobacco companies, explain how transnational corporations can influence the health of people in countries at different stages of development.

Referring to both pharmaceutical and tobacco companies, explain how transnational corporations can influence the health of people in countries at different stages of development (15) Both pharmaceutical and tobacco companies can be transnational corporations and some wield enormous international power and influence covering over one hundred countries with billions of pounds worth of profit; in 2009, GlaxoSmithKline had a net income of approximately £6 billion! Some corporations have, for example, used their profits to help fight widespread diseases in less economically developed countries (LEDCs), such as GlaxoSmithKline's help in the fight against Lymphatic Filariasis in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Some have set up health programmes in more economically developed countries (MEDCs) to reduce common health problems in these areas, such as different types of cancer. However, some corporations only supply people with the means to deteriorate their health, such as some tobacco companies like British American Tobacco, especially in LEDCs, but both pharmaceutical & tobacco companies play an important role in the health of the world's people. A pharmaceutical company is a company, which develops, produces and markets drugs licenced for use as medications, so obviously these companies play a huge role in the health of people worldwide as they provide medication against diseases

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 2086
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
Access this essay

Malthus got it right-we are doomed?

Malthus got it right-we are doomed? How far do you agree with this statement when discussing the population-resource relationship in the 21st century? In 1789 the Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus produced his 'Essay on the Principle of Population', which were based on two principles: first one being that the food supply would increase arithmetically over time, and the second one being that population would grow geometrically/exponentially. There would be a finite optimum population size (carrying capacity) in relation to food supply. So if the population would reach beyond this carrying capacity, it would lead to a decline in the standard of living - it would lead to war, famine and diseases. Nowadays, his prediction luckily is not the case. Since the 'Green Revolution' started in 1945, there has been an enormous increase in food supply provided by agricultural markets. The green revolution has enabled food production to keep pace with the increasing global population growth. The Green Revolution has provided some great benefits: "From 1950 to 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the world, grain production increased by over 250%"1 and "The world population has grown by about four billion since the beginning of the Green Revolution and most believe that, without the Revolution, there would be greater famine and malnutrition than the UN presently

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1409
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Geography
Access this essay

How can inflation be reduced?

How Can Inflation Be Reduced? Inflation is a persistent rise in average price level over a year, it is measured through CPI (Consumer Price Index). CPI takes a basket of goods ,which are weighted due to expenditure in a household budget (so you spend more money on food then shoes therefore food has a higher weight). CPI then looks at how the prices have changed and dictates a rate in accordance to the statistics. Inflation usually carries negative connotations as it usually comes in conjunction with economic instability therefore many different methods have been devised in order to avert the problems of inflation and reduce it. An example of high inflation which was reduced is in Britain. In the 1970's inflation was phenomenal and peaked at over 20%, through successful monetary policy however this was mitigated. By raising interest rates it reduces the growth of aggregate demand it encourages saving (which would stifle consumer spending and investment) as well as reducing disposable income. Monetary policy is a proven technique used to reduce inflation. Favoured by the US and UK it looks at the modification of interest rates in order to control inflation (and reduce) this is know as tightening monetary policy. Monetary policy is the control of money supply by the central bank (so in Britain it is the Bank of England and in the US it's the Federal Reserve). Inflation can

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 2774
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Economics
Access this essay

abortion research

Abortion and Ethics Ethics of Abortion: Is it Moral or Immoral to Have an Abortion? Abortion is a Serious Ethical Issue: Usually debates about abortion focus on politics and the law: should abortion be outlawed and treated like the murder of a human person, or remain a legal choice available to all women? Behind the debates are more fundamental ethical questions which aren't always given the specific attention they deserve. Some believe that the law shouldn't legislate morality, but all good law is based upon moral values. A failure to openly discuss those values can obscure important discussions. Is the Fetus a Person with Rights?: Much debate about the legality of abortion involves debating the legal status of the fetus. If the fetus is a person, anti-choice activists argue, then abortion is murder and should be illegal. Even if the fetus is a person, though, abortion may justified as necessary to women's bodily autonomy - but that wouldn't mean that abortion is automatically ethical. Perhaps the state can't force women to carry pregnancies to term, but it could argue that it is the most ethical choice. Does the Woman have Ethical Obligations to the Fetus?: If a woman consented to sex and/or didn't properly use contraception, then she knew that pregnancy might result. Being pregnant means having a new life growing inside. Whether the fetus is a person or not, and

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 7591
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Law
Access this essay

International Business Strategy - Case Study on Unilever

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Every multi-national corporation has a business strategy that enables it to get ahead of its competitors. Unilever, as one of the global leaders that offers consumer goods including brand name foods, personal-care items and household products and owns an extensive global operation network in almost every country, has also developed its unique set of business strategies. Unilever is strong in making head start in emerging economies and has been making significant contributions to the economic growth in these countries. Emerging economies are developing countries that in general have less compatible infrastructure, in particular, for economic activities to take place effectively and majority of their populations are living in conditions that are below international standards. At present, over 44% of Unilever's sales come from emerging economies and further growth in consumption is expected in near future. This is in fact more than enough to take Unilever somewhere better than being the second largest in the global consumer goods market; nonetheless, as competition intensified, Unilever started losing the hang of it. Since Mr. Patrick Cescau became Unilever's sole Chief Executive in 2005, series of operation reforms were initiated. The strategic evolution under Cescau's management brought Unilever out of its dreadful situation and is regarded as one of

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 4549
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Economics
Access this essay