The communitarization of asylum and immigration policy at Amsterdam : a liberal intergovernmentalist account

This study addresses the question of how successfully the liberal intergovernmentalist theory of European integration explains the communitarization of the European Union’s asylum and immigration policy negotiated during the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). It adapts the theory to the areas of asylum and immigration policy and investigates its explanatory power concerning the state preferences of Germany, the United Kingdom and France, and the outcomes of the Amsterdam IGC. The study shows that Liberal Intergovernmentalism can provide a plausible account of the changes in the analyzed policy areas, but needs to expand its base to include the demands of the general public. When domestic demands are weak and losers and winners are not easily discerned, ideas may provide a more complete account of institutional choices