1999/12/01 by Tanja A. Bürzel · 550 citations
Social Sciences · #Adaptation (eye) #Business #Convergence (economics) #Distribution (mathematics) #Economic geography #Economic growth #Economic system #Economics #European Union Policy and Governance #European union #Institutional change #International trade #Member state #Member states #Political Systems and Governance #Political science #Public administration #Redistribution (election) #Social Policy and Reform Studies
paper · doi:10.1111/1468-5965.00197
published in JCMS Journal of Common Market Studies 37(4), 573-596 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 1999/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
A number of studies suggest that European integration impacts upon the domestic institutions of the Member States by changing the distribution of resources among domestic actors. I argue in this article that resource dependency needs to be embedded in an institutionalist understanding of Europeanization in order to explain when and how Europe affects the domestic institutions of the Member States. First, domestic institutions determine the distribution of resources among the domestic actors in a given Member State. Second, the compatibility of European and domestic institutions determines the degree to which Europeanization changes this distribution of resources and hence the degree of pressure for institutional adaptation. Third, the domestic institutional culture determines the dominant strategies of actors by which they respond to such a redistribution of resources facilitating or prohibiting institutional adaptation. I demonstrate my argument empirically by comparing the impact of Europeanization on the territorial institutions of Germany and Spain. I conclude with some considerations on whether we are likely to see convergence among the domestic institutions of the Member States.