Fuzzy borders and adaptive outsiders: Norway, Switzerland and the eu

Abstract

This article analyzes two interrelated questions in regard to the ‘reach’ of Europeanization and the significance of boundaries. First, within what area do the institutions and policy processes of the EU take over traditional functions of national states? Second, how extensive is the adaptation of domestic institutions and policies: which states have to adapt? In exploring these questions, we challenge two assumptions that underlie most of the current research on Europeanization. The first of these is that the concept of membership in the EU is dichotomous. The second is that there is a strong causal relationship between membership in the EU and the extent of institutional reorganization and adaptation at the domestic level. The empirical basis of the article is a comparative analysis of Norway and Switzerland, two West European countries that are not members of the EU. Consideration of these states helps us understand how and to what extent dynamics of Europeanization may extend beyond the formal boundaries of the EU.