ANOTHER HAPPY MARRIAGE: CONSTRUCTIVISM AND EUROPEAN MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE
ANOTHER HAPPY MARRIAGE: CONSTRUCTIVISM AND EUROPEAN MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE

Summary/Abstract: In the present paper I advocate the application of social constructivist theories to the practice of multi-level governance (MLG) in Europe. This would help fill both LG’s “theoretical vacuum” and constructivism’s “empirical vacuum.” After discussing the growing disconnect between EU integration theories and European MLG practice, I set up a framework for analyzing governance. Next, I use this framework to depict the classic social constructivist approach to governance. Further, I show that traditional integration theories are less appropriate to account for MLG than constructivism is. Finally, I propose a brief research agenda, through which constructivism and MLG could come together in a fruitful “marriage.”

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