2002/12/01 by Johan P. Olsen · 31 citations
Mathematics · Social Sciences · #Economics #Epistemology #European Union Policy and Governance #Focus (optics) #Leadership, Human Resources, Global Affairs #Management science #Mathematics #Meaning (existential) #Philosophy #Point (geometry) #Political science #Positive economics #Regional Development and Policy #Sociology #Term (time)
paper · doi:10.1111/1468-5965.00403
published in JCMS Journal of Common Market Studies 40(5), 921-952 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2002/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Is ‘Europeanization’ as disappointing a term as it is fashionable? Should it be abandoned, or is it useful for understanding European transformations? Five uses are discussed and it is argued that research need not be hampered by competing definitions as long as their meaning, the phenomena in focus, the simplifying assumption used, the models of change and the theoretical challenges involved, are clarified and kept separate. The research challenge is one of model building, not one of inventing definitions. While it is premature to abandon the term, its usefulness may be more limited than its widespread use could indicate. Europeanization may be less useful as an explanatory concept than as an attention–directing device and a starting point for further exploration.