CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2008
| Author | Dahl, Miriam Stackpole |
|---|---|
| Title | New Member States' Preferences for Further EU Enlargement: Priorities and Positions in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland |
| Summary | Why are new EU member states generally among the strongest supporters of further EU enlargement? Although future enlargements might divert financial transfers away from them, the recent EU members advocate a continuous enlargement process with fair conditions for all potential candidates. Addressing the puzzle why new members support accession of countries in which they have few national material interests, this thesis analyzes preferences for further enlargement in four new member states - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. To be best able to understand what factors determine the preferences, a combined theoretical approach is applied. Whereas liberal intergovernmentalism focusing on material interests is particularly useful to understand the priorities for immediate neighbors, constructivist accounts focusing on the role of norms and identity allows for an explanation of new members’ support for enlargement to non-neighboring potential candidates. This thesis shows that the new members analyzed support and prioritize enlargement to their immediate neighbors, as that will increase their national security and economic opportunities. However, that is not the whole picture. They also support enlargement to non-neighbors where direct individual material gains are limited. This puzzle is solved by understanding enlargement preferences as partly formed in a socialization process where new members adhere to an EU identity based on promotion of democracy, human rights and welfare for the Union as a whole and genuinely follow these norms and values when determining their positions on further enlargement. |
| Supervisor | Littoz-Monnet, Annabelle |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2008/dahl_miriam.pdf |
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