Interpreting Convergence in the European Union

Patterns of Collective Action, Social Learning and Europeanization

C. Paraskevopoulos

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2001
• Print ISBN: 9781349425013, 9780333921883
• eBook ISBN: 9780230512511
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: European Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Interpreting Convergence in the European Union introduces the idea of collective action as a prerequisite for achieving convergence and cohesion in the European Union. Institutional networks and social capital play a crucial role in influencing actors' preferences and shaping institutional interactions through the process of political exchange and socialization. Although the main focus of the book is on policymaking processes and governance structures in EU regional policy, its core theoretical hypotheses and conclusion are drawn from empirical research into the response of Greek regions to the challenges of Europeanization. This framework is applicable to almost all areas of EU public policymaking.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Interpreting Convergence in the European Union
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figures
• Preface
• Foreword
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1 Social Capital, Institutional Networks and Learning: Conceptualizing Governance in the Era of Globalization
• 2 Social Learning and Adaptation within European Regional Policy
• 3 Greece: Restructuring under Pressure or the Response to an External Shock
• 4 Institutional Capacity and Policy Environment in the Southern Aegean Islands
• 5 Institutional Capacity and Policy Environment in the Northern Aegean Islands
• 6 Catching up by Learning in European Structural Policy: Policy Networks and Adaptation in the Southern Aegean Islands
• 7 Neither Learning nor Leadership: Policy Networks and State-driven Adaptation in the Northern Aegean Islands
• 8 Conclusions: Social Capital, Institutional Learning and Adaptation within European Regional Policy. Implications for Integration Theory
• Notes
• Appendix
• Bibliography
• Index