State traditions in institutional reform: A case study of French and German telephone policy debates from 1876 until 1997.

This thesis tests the claim that national differences in sectoral state traditions diminish over time. The case study covers telephone policy debates in France and Germany in five time periods from 1876 until 1997: the 'consolidation phase' (1876 - 1900); the 1920s; the post-Second World War years; the debates leading up to corporatisation in the 1980s; and the debates around opening for full competition in the 1990s. The analytical framework is founded in writings on state traditions and on the role of ideas and discourse in policymaking. The study's object of investigation, 'sectoral state traditions', is developed to allow for comparison both longitudinally within one country and cross-nationally. It comprises the notion of authority and of who should be the relevant actors in the policy process; public ethos of sectoral policies; and criteria for legitimate decision-making procedures and discourse. Central concepts and ideas in public debates are identified in both countries for each period. The investigation of public political debates (parliamentary debates, governmental and other public documents, and newspaper articles) in each country shows that sectoral state traditions were highly resistant to change. Cross-national comparison further corroborates the persistence of the two sectoral state traditions, which, despite common external factors (technology, international cooperation, supranational legislation), showed little or no convergence. The set of actors perceived as relevant to policymaking remained largely stable throughout the period under investigation. The French ethos of "service public', and the German ethos of efficient infrastructure provision, remained central. Criteria for decision-making and discourse altered in France in the late 1980s, whereas they remained stable in Germany. Evidence therefore does not support a hypothesis of convergence between the two sectoral state traditions

Analyzing European Union Politics

The speed and depth with which the European Communities/ European Union has evolved is breathtaking and has radically shaped the life of the continent. Ever since the beginning of this ambitious economic and political project, scholars around the world have tried to explain the underlying logic behind it and the mechanisms of its functioning. Thus, a plethora of studies developed alongside the evolution of the EU. SENT (Network of European Studies) is an innovative and ambitious project which brought together about 100 partners from the EU member states, candidate and associated countries, and other parts of the world. It was a far reaching project aimed to overcome disciplinary and geographical- linguistic boundaries in order to assess the state of EU studies today, as well as the idea of Europe as transmitted by schools, national politicians, the media, etc. SENT’s main goal was to map European studies, in order to get a comprehensive picture of the evolution of European studies over the last decades in different disciplines and countries. This approach permitted to achieve a better understanding of the direction these studies are now taking. Five disciplines were identified where EU studies have particularly evolved: law, politics, economics, history, and social and cultural studies. The mapping of EU studies thus includes a review of the most studied issues in EU studies today, the main academic schools, the most influential journals and books published, but it also shows how local realities and national identities affect the study and teaching of Europe around the world. In addition, an important work was done in mapping and discussing teaching methodologies in relation to European studies with the aim of introducing and diffusing the most up-to-date techniques