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European integration continues to deepen despite major crises and attempts to take back sovereignty. A growing number of member states are reacting to a more constraining EU by negotiating opt-outs. This book provides the first in-depth account of how opt-outs work in practice. It examines the most controversial cases of differentiated integration: the British and Danish opt-outs from Economic and Monetary Union and European policies on borders, asylum, migration, internal security and justice. Drawing on over one hundred interviews with national representatives and EU officials, the author demonstrates how representatives manage the stigma of opting out, allowing them to influence even politically sensitive areas covered by their opt-outs. Developing a practice approach to European integration, the book shows how everyday negotiations transform national interests into European ideals. It is usually assumed that states opt out to preserve sovereignty, but Adler-Nissen argues that national opt-outs may actually reinforce the integration process.
List of contents
1. Introduction; 2. Disintegrating Europe?; 3. A political sociology of European integration; 4. The stigma of Euro-outsiderness; 5. Through the revolving doors of freedom, justice and security; 6. Late sovereign diplomacy; 7. Conclusion.
About the author
Rebecca Adler-Nissen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen. Her research focuses on international relations theory, diplomacy, sovereignty, security and European integration. She is editor of Bourdieu in International Relations: Rethinking Key Concepts in IR (2012), and co-editor of European Integration and Postcolonial Sovereignty Games: The EU Overseas Countries and Territories (2012) and Sovereignty Games: Instrumentalizing State Sovereignty in Europe and Beyond (2008).
Summary
It is usually assumed that states opt out of the European Union to preserve sovereignty, but this book demonstrates that national opt-outs may reinforce the integration process. Providing the first in-depth account of how opt-outs work, it will appeal to students and scholars of European politics, international relations and diplomatic studies.
