Political Economy of European Integration

Research Group

Martin Höpner

Heterogeneity within the European Union has increased with each round of enlargement. The EU is made up of countries with widely differing welfare levels, welfare states, industrial relations arrangements, and corporate governance regimes. The extent to which the European economies rely on internal demand and exports varies, too. The research group analyzes how the heterogeneity of European varieties of capitalism shapes European integration. It focuses on the following issues: (1) the political-economic conflict structures within the EU and the eurozone; (2) the functioning of the European economic and monetary union; (3) the tensions between judicial and political integration; (4) the liberalization bias of European integration; (5) the determinants of the partial autonomy of the Commission and European Court of Justice as supranational institutions; (6) the transformation of European varieties of capitalism and its effects on production, distribution, and democracy; and (7) theory formation at the intersection of integration theory and political economy.

Current Research Projects

Doctoral Projects