Has Neofunctionalism Been Superseded By A New 'Liberal Intergovernmentalism" As Currently The Most Convincing Theoretical Explanation of European Political Integration?

Has Neofunctionalism Been Superseded By A New 'Liberal Intergovernmentalism" As Currently The Most Convincing Theoretical Explanation of European Political Integration?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

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'All political parties are prey to the iron law of oligarchy.' Discuss

'All political parties are prey to the iron law of oligarchy.' Discuss The 'iron law of oligarchy' was a phrase first used by the German sociologist Roberto Michels in his book Political Parties, published in 1916. From historic insight and studies of both the German SPD and the Italian Socialist parties, Michels concluded that all parties, whatever their initial intensions, would be controlled by a political elite or oligarchy, who separated themselves, by the control of the bureaucracy, from the masses of their own party ranks. The reasons for this tendency towards oligarchy were the natural necessity for society to have a ruling class, the self fuelling desire for party officials to gain and retain power, and the effectiveness that centralised parties had in a political environment. Since 1916 Michels' work has gained a huge amount of support, particularly as the pressures of parties to centralise power is becoming more important in an increasingly competitive political world, but it is not without its critics. Opponents claim that Michels and his followers paint too black and white a picture and while there does seem to be a strong tendency for oligarchy to form, it can not be said to be an 'iron rule', as there are a number of examples where political parties have not taken on such a form. Much of Michels 'iron rule' theory was influenced heavily by Karl Marx'

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'A gets B to do something that he or she would not otherwise do. Does this sum up the essence of political power?

'A GETS B TO DO SOMETHING THAT HE OR SHE WOULD NOT OTHERWISE DO'. DOES THIS SUM UP THE ESSENCE OF POLITICAL POWER? Questions of power are arguably the most important in the field of politics, and as such the concept of power is one of the most frequently discussed topics amongst political scientists. Power is such a wide concept that this essay will not be able to discuss motivation; that is, why an individual may want to exert power over another individual, although this is a crucial question when discussing this topic. Instead, this essay will focus on the 'faces of power' debate; the three widely recognised faces, decision-making, agenda-setting and preference-shaping as well as Foucault's research into a fourth face of power. As well as outlining the arguments put forward by political scholars, this essay will critically analyse each theory and ultimately sum up the essence of political power. In "The Concept of Power" (1957) Robert Dahl looks at the relationship between preferences and decisions before concluding that power is a one dimensional concept regarding the power of A to affect the decisions of B. Dahl's view of power is that it is quantifiable by counting the number of decisions that are made and determine that whoever has the most decisions in their favour is the most powerful. While analysing Dahl's one dimensional view of power, Hay stated that "the

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Do you agree with Scruton (1990) that the main aim of Conservatism is preservation of a pre existing social order?

Do you agree with Scruton (1990) that the main aim of Conservatism is 'preservation of a pre existing social order?' Student Number - 110118471 The issue of analysing the aims of any political ideology is difficult mainly due to the often fractured and conflicting natures of ideologies. There are significant issues arising particularly from the analysis of Conservatism, largely due to its positional stance as an approach which focuses on what is rather than normative claims. Such problems necessarily lead to caution when debating Conservatism, as Eccleshall asserts "the ideology poses serious conceptual difficulties" (2003, p.48). However, when analysing Conservatism, it is evident that Scruton's definition is on the right lines, however I shall argue that such a definition of the main aim of Conservatism is too broad, and that more focus should be on the preservation of appropriate pre existing social orders and the preservation of stability. Moreover, when put into practice, there are numerous examples of reformist branches within Conservatism which in fact go beyond Scruton's claim and seek to reinstate social orders of the past. One of the key premises in the assertion that Conservatism's main aim is the preservation of a pre existing social order is the concept that society is going through a process of degeneration. The idea of regression is as Goodwin (1992) asserts,

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'A gets B to do something that he or she would not otherwise do'. Does this sum up the essence of political power?

'A gets B to do something that he or she would not otherwise do'. Does this sum up the essence of political power? Political power has been described as an "essentially contested concept1" and for good reason. Of all of the concepts in political science, power is probably that which is debated most often. This is perhaps unsurprising due to its importance within the discipline. Heywood suggests that "without doubt, students of politics are students of power2". The quote in the question refers to Robert Dahl's "intuitive idea of power3" outlined in his early article 'The Concept of Power4'. It is also the most commonly used 'definition' of power; however, to what extent does it describe the nature and essence of political power? As the extensive debate suggests, there are many problems when defining power. As the 'Oxford Dictionary of Politics explains, issues of "Intentionality", "Comparability and Quantifiability" and "Time and Causation5'" make arriving at a definition very difficult. Without Intentionality, it argues, "we are left with a paradoxical and useless concept of power... the concept of power becomes vague to the point of meaningless". Also, for a universal concept of power, it must allow for comparative analyses in the form of "A has more power than C in context x" or "A has more power than anybody else in context x" for example. This quote in the question

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Why is the single currency so important? Discuss with relation to issues of economic and political union.

Why is the single currency so important? Discuss with relation to issues of economic and political union. The introduction of the single European currency on 1st January 1999 represented, without doubt, a revolution in the way economic matters of Europe are managed. The economies of Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland are now to a large extent harmonized under the one common currency, the Euro. Never before has such a project been undertaken uniting currencies and cultures alike. As deepening and widening of the European Union (EU) continues at a rapid pace, how does the single currency fit into the aims and goals of the European Council, and more importantly the aspirations of European citizens? Why is the success Euro crucial to the EU's long term stability and longevity? What political opposition exists towards the importance of the Euro as a driving force for further political integration? It is these questions that this essay seeks to address, providing political and economic reasoning in support of my arguments. Economically speaking, the introduction of the Euro was primarily designed to create a more stable European economy. Indeed, it was set out clearly in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 as the underpinnings of all the European Commission's financial objectives for the single

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How revolutionary was Thatcherism?

How revolutionary was Thatcherism? The result of 1975 leadership election for the Conservative Party heralded a new era in right wing politics. Margaret Thatcher was not only in control of a male dominated and male orientated party but she had brought with her a new ideology that is best described by political theorists as Thatcherism. The British economy and state was transformed between 1979 and 1990 as 'she maximised her power to achieve the things she wanted'1. There is a dispute however as to whether the period of Thatcherism was a revolution of the British State or if it was more of a reaction to Labour Socialism that had taken hold of society in the 1970s. Furthermore there is a belief that Thatcher's revolution was more within the Conservative Party, providing it with a new sense of direction, rather than on Britain as a whole. It is these notions that I intend to analyse before drawing a conclusion as to what extent Thatcherism was revolutionary. Throughout Thatcher's leadership of the Conservative Party it was not uncommon for her opponents to claim that 'she was not really a Conservative at all'2, as a result of her transformation of it. Political observers are unclear as to whether the changes to the party were actually the rise of a new right or just a ideological return to the grass roots of Victorian politics, which is the judgement of one political

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Why is the Common Agricultural Policy so difficult to reform?

Ross Lucas GV244 Essay 3 Why is the Common Agricultural Policy so difficult to reform? The political stakes attached to CAP reform are high, with several groups having a vested interest in its future. The CAP was the first supranational policy of the EU, and some countries still hold a romantic attachment to rural culture, although now only 5% of the EU workforce is comprised of farmers, a figure which shrinks every year1. Yet this minority holds enough power to preserve CAP subsidies, against the interests of taxpayers and consumers. There are several reasons for this, the predominant one being that "there is greater institutional presence and activity in the agricultural field than in any other" 2. This applies to both the national and European level. Indeed the size and organisation of the EU farm lobby is greater than any comparative group, with potential countervailing forces being much smaller and less organised than the farm lobby. This essay will focus on three particular areas that make CAP difficult to reform; the susceptibility of national governments to pressure from the domestic agricultural community, the institutional bias in the EU towards agricultural interests and the asymmetry of interests towards CAP between consumers and farmers. Despite its obvious decline the farming population in the EU remains significant. In France

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Is Pluralism Faithful to the Idea of Democracy?

Is Pluralism Faithful to the Idea of Democracy? This broad question can be asked in a few different ways to help us decipher what its intention is, and also to provide a rough guide to the path to be taken to answer it. Can the existence of pluralism be said to also mean the existence of democracy? Is pluralism the closest we can get to democracy, for the type of societies we live in today (in the West)? Or, is pluralism a diluted form of democracy, in the classical sense, which does not meet the definition of 'rule by the people'? Without turning the investigation into a question of definitions it is necessary, before we embark, to briefly say a few words about the two key concepts in the question: pluralism and democracy. Since the inception of the term, Robert Dahl has been one of the most prominent pluralists. He, and his contemporaries, sought to theorise the 'actual' workings of democracy in a modern society. They documented objectively what is achievable in modern societies as opposed to theories of 'classic', or 'populist', democracy (Dahl, 1956, ch.2). For brevity's sake, we will use the broad definition given by Hague and Harrop: Literally 'rule by the many', pluralism refers to a political system in which numerous competing interest groups exert strong influence over a responsive government. However, each of these groups concentrates on its own area (for

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What evidence is there that the state is still the dominant actor in World Politics?

What evidence is there that the state is still the dominant actor in World Politics? For some 300 years from its emergence in the mid seventeenth century the state - in the specific form of the nation state - was rightly regarded as the dominant actor in international economic relationships. (Dicken; 1998, pp 79) One of the most prominent features of the global political system in the second half of the twentieth century is the significant surge in numbers and importance of non state entities. The rise of these transnationally organised non state actors (NSA) and their growing involvement in world politics challenge the assumptions of traditional approaches to international relations which assume that states are the only important units of the international system. This essay plans to analyse the extent of the states dominance in the sphere of world politics. The analysis of NSA influence and the states gradually decreasing dominance shall be explored with reference to two vastly different schools of thought. The first school of thought to be examined is that of 'realism' where a state-centric approach is adopted. The second school of thought to be considered is that of a complex interdependence system where NSA enjoy an almost equal pegging to that of states in the field of international relations. This essay shall refer to and question amongst other things, the growing

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