Nomos Universitätsschriften
Politik
Band 164
Carmen Gebhard
Unravelling the
Baltic Sea Conundrum
Regionalism and European Integration Revisited
Nomos
1. Auflage 2009
© Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden 2009. Printed in Germany. Alle Rechte, auch die des Nachdrucks von Auszügen, der fotomechanischen Wiedergabe und
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Zugl.: Wien, Univ., Diss., 2007
ISBN 978-3-8329-4084-3
This publication has been generously supported by the Austrian
Political Science Association and the University of Vienna.
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Table of Contents
Introduction 13
Chapter 1: Overview, Purpose and Background 15
A. Outline and Main Objective 15
B. Relevance of the Topic – Europe in a Nutshell 16
C. State of Research 18
I. Looking Back – ‘Northern’ Issues in European Political Science 18
II. Mapping Out the White Spots on the Research Agenda 19
D. Methodological Approach 20
I. Working Material and Information Retrieval 20
II. Research Strategy 21
E. Preliminary Assumptions, Research Questions and Structure 22
Chapter 2: Regional and Sub-Regional Co-operation in Northern Europe 24
A. Geo-political Labels in Northern Europe 24
I. Northern Europe, Scandinavia and the North 24
II. ‘Nordic’ vs. ‘Northern’ 26
III. The ‘Baltic States’ 26
IV. Overview: The Geo-Political Terminology Used in this Study 27
B. Northern Europe – Some General Characteristics and Features 27
I. BSR Specificities and Sensitivities 27
II. Remoteness and Marginality – The Periphery’s Romantic Temptation 30
C. What Makes a Region a ‘Region’? Reflections on Baltic Sea ‘Regionness’ 33
D. Regionalism – Definitions, Delimitations and Typologies 36
I. The Regionalism Complex and the Importance of Conceptual Clarity 36
II. Baltic Sea Region: What Sort of ‘Regionalism’? 37
III. Levels of Regionalism: Macro-, Meso- and Micro-Regionalism 39
IV. Typologies 41
1. Old vs. New Regionalism and the New Regionalism Approach 42
2. Hard vs. Soft Regionalism 46
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E. Regionalism in Northern Europe After 1989 48
I. The Early Phase of Construction 48
II. The Irony of Competition I 49
III. The Council of the Baltic Sea States 51
IV. Visions and Constructed Realities – The History Tool 53
1. The Vision of a ‘New Hansa’ and the ‘Spirit of Kotka’ 54
2. The Tale of Homo Balticus 56
V. The Argument of Challenges – United in Diversity 58
F. Mental Geography – The Constitution of the BSR as a Spatial Concept 61
I. Is ‘Nordic’ Plus ‘Baltic’ Equal to Inclusive ‘Balticness’? 61
1. Nordic Togetherness – The Changing Role of Nordic Cooperation 62
2. The Baltic States and Baltic Unity – Imposition or Expedient? 69
3. Nordic-Baltic Co-operation 74
II. The ‘Nordic Bloc’ – Driving Core for Baltic Sea Regionalism? 75
III. ‘Old North’ vs. ‘New Regionalism’ – Competing for the Same Space? 78
G. Councils, Associations, Unions, Leagues 84
I. Networks and Clusters 84
II. Patterns of Cooperation: Sorting out the Mess 86
Chapter 3: The EU Northern Dimension 89
A. Introduction: The EU Approach Towards the North 89
I. Enlarging the Union – Association, Partnership and Accession in the BSR 90
1. The Swedish and Finnish EU Accession 90
2. The Baltic States 93
II. The EU Committee of the Regions 94
III. The EU Performance in Regional Development: E.S.D.P. and INTERREG 97
IV. The EU Neighbourhood Policy 101
B. The EU Northern Dimension – A General Overview 104
I. Policy Outline 105
II. Policy Implementation and Progression 108
III. Preliminary Evaluation: What Role for the EU ND? 109
C. Preliminary Conclusions: The EU as a Regional (F)Actor in Northern Europe 111
D. Excursus: Mare Europaeum – Whose Mare Nostrum? 113
I. The Contended Sea – A Brief Historical Retrospect 113
II. What Accounts for Swedish and Finnish Self-Perception? 115
III. Small State Theory – The Conduct of Small States in Foreign Policy 117
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1. What Makes a State a ‘Small State’? 117
2. Is There a Specific Pattern for Small State Foreign Policy Conduct? 119
3. Small States and ‘Perceived Greatness’ – ‘Too Big for Their Boots’? 122
4. Sweden and Finland – Typical Small States? 123
5. Small States, Great Powers and Leadership in the Nordic Family 125
IV. Sweden and Finland as European Actors and Regional Stakeholders 127
1. Sweden, Finland, European Integration and the EU 128
2. Sweden, Finland and the BSR 130
E. The EU Northern Dimension – Showcase for the Swedish-Finnish Divide? 134
I. The Irony of Competition II 134
1. The Finnish Northern Dimension Initiative 135
2. The Finnish Initiative from a Swedish Point of View 138
II. And the Story Goes On: Is Sweden Trying to ‘Keep the EU ND Alive’? 142
III. Promoting the Finnish Perspective: Finland’s EU Presidency 2006 145
F. Evaluation: The EU ND Reconsidered 150
Chapter 4: Explaining the Baltic Sea Conundrum 154
A. Introductory Remarks on Regionalism and Integration 154
B. Theoretical Approaches to European Integration 155
I. European Integration Theory: Addressing regional integration? 155
II. Broad Tendencies and Competing Traditions in EIT 157
1. Dichotomy I: Intergovernmentalism vs. Neo-Functionalism 160
2. Dichotomy II: Rationalism vs. Constructivism 161
C. Applying Integration Theory to the Baltic Sea Case – Application Patterns 164
I. Application pattern I: The BSR – A Micro-Cosmic Version of the EU? 165
1. Application of Selected Approaches to the BSR Case 165
a. Neo-Realism 166
b. Liberal Intergovernmentalism 167
c. Neo-Functionalism 168
d. Multi-Level Governance 169
e. Neoliberal/Rational Institutionalism 170
2. Excursus: Social Constructivism 172
a. The Discursive Construction of Regions 172
b. Why the Explanatory Power of Constructivism Remains Low 179
II. Intermediate Synthesis: Crosslinking Typologies and Theories 188
III. Application Pattern II: The Correlation Between Meso and Macro-Level 190
D. Inputs from International Relations Theory 193
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I. Application pattern I: The Security Community Approach 194
1. Deutschian Transactionalism 195
2. Security Community Building in Northern Europe 195
3. Adler and Barnett – Transactionalism Reconstructed 196
4. Regional Security Complex Theory: Reactions from Copenhagen 197
5. Inclusive Balticness: Extending the Nordic Non-War Community? 199
II. Application Pattern II: Sketching a Model of Explanation 200
1. The BSR as a Subset 202
2. The BSR in a Cobweb Variation: Peripheral and Marginal? 204
3. The BSR as an Auto-Dynamic Unit Within the Wider Unit Europe 205
4. What Kind of ‘Europe of the Regions’? 208
E. A Short Ride into the Field of Comparative Theory 211
I. Structuring Social Action – Structural Functionalism by Parsons 212
II. Reconciling Application Patterns: Trial Application to the Baltic Sea Case 216
F. Conclusions on the Theoretical Incorporation of Baltic Sea Regionalism 218
Summary – Questions and Answers 223
Epilogue 228
Annex: Baltic Sea Associations and Structures in Detail 231
Bibliography 261
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Tables
Table 1: The Geo-Political Terminology Applied in this Study................................. 27
Table 2: Socio-Economic Disparities in the BSR....................................................... 30
Table 3: BSR States and Respective Sub-States......................................................... 34
Table 4: Levels of Regionalism: Macro-, Meso- and Micro-Regionalism................. 39
Table 5: Old and New Regionalism in Comparison................................................... 43
Table 6: Hard and Soft Regionalism in Comparison.................................................. 47
Table 7: Historical and Cultural Diversity of the Baltic States .................................. 70
Table 8: Assessing the Nordic Potential of the Baltic States...................................... 82
Table 9: Cooperative Structures and Formations in the BSR: Synoptic Overview.... 86
Table 10: Chronology – the European Integration Process of the Baltic States........... 93
Table 11: INTERREG III programmes in Northern Europe (2001-2006) ................... 99
Table 12: Chronology – the Implementation Process of the EU ND ......................... 109
Table 13: Phases in the Historical Development of the BSR ..................................... 114
Table 14: The Baltic Sea Region Initiative and the EU ND in Comparison .............. 139
Table 15: Phases in European Integration Theory...................................................... 157
Table 16: Ontology – Epistemology: Neo-Functionalism vs. Intergovernmentalism 160
Table 17: Ontology – Epistemology: Rationalism vs. Constructivism ...................... 162
Table 18: Rationalist vs. Constructivist Institutionalism ........................................... 164
Table 19: Application Patterns for the Critical Discussion of EIT in the BSR Case . 164
Table 20: Berger and Luckman: Key quotations of Constructivism .......................... 173
Table 21: Descriptive and Analytical Approaches to Regions ................................... 175
Table 22: Explaining Regionalism: Crosslinking Typologies and Theories .............. 189
Table 23: Application Patterns for the Critical Discussion of IRT in the BSR Case . 194
Table 24: Organisational Abilities According to the AGIL Pattern, Parsons............. 213
Table 25: Organisational Structures According to the AGIL Pattern, Parsons .......... 213
Table 26: Schematic Overview of the Complex System Theory, Parsons ................. 215
Figures
Figure 1: Analytical Cornerstones of the Study........................................................... 15
Figure 2: Models of Baltic Sea ‘Regionness’ – ‘Region’ and ‘Sub-Region’............... 40
Figure 3: Mental Sub-Spaces Meeting in the BSR ...................................................... 62
Figure 4: Mental Sub-Spaces in the European North................................................... 79
Figure 5: Axes of Competition in European Integration Theory ............................... 159
Figure 6: Multiform Northerness, generated by Pirjo Jukarainen.............................. 178
Figure 7: Social Constructivism and the Analytical ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ .................. 187
Figure 8: Interaction and Influence Flows Between Meso- and Macro-Level .......... 201
Figure 9: Model of Explanation I: Subset vs. Superset.............................................. 202
Figure 10: The Concentric Circles Model.................................................................... 203
Figure 11: The Cobweb and the Hub-and-Spoke Model ............................................. 203
Figure 12: Model of Explanation II: the BSR as a Peripheral Region......................... 204
Figure 13: Model of Explanation III: the BSR as an Auto-Dynamic Unit .................. 205
Figure 14: The Auto-Dynamic Unit as an Arena for State Action (e.g. Sweden) ....... 206
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Figure 15: Europe of Concentric Circles vs. Europe of OlympicRings....................... 209
Figure 16: Networked Europe – Functional Regionalisation....................................... 211
Figure 17: The AGIL Pattern by Parsons..................................................................... 213
Figure 18: Interlocking Input-Output System, Parsons ............................................... 214
Figure 19: Complex Social Systems, Parsons.............................................................. 216
Figure 20: The AGIL Pattern – the Example of Sweden’s Regionalist Activism ....... 217
Figure 21: Swedish Regionalist Activism in Relation to the EU Framework ............. 218
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Acronyms
AC Arctic Council
AER Assembly of the European Regions
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
BA Baltic Assembly
BASTUN Baltic Sea Trade Union Network
BCCA Baltic Sea Chambers of Commerce Association
BCM Baltic Council of Ministers
BDF Baltic Development Forum
BEAC Barents Euro-Arctic Council
BEEGS Baltic and East European Graduate School
BEN Baltic Euroregional Network
BRN Baltic Rim Network
BSC Baltic Sea Commission
BSF Baltic Sea Forum (Pro Baltica)
BSR Baltic Sea Region
BSRI Baltic Sea Region Initiative
BSSSC Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation
BTC Baltic Sea Tourism Commission
CBSS Council of the Baltic Sea States
CCB Coalition Clean Baltic
CDDRL Stanford Centre on Democracy, Development, and The Rule of Law
CEBAST Centre for Baltic Sea Region Studies
CFSP Common Foreign and Security Policy
CoR Committee of the Regions
CPMR Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe
CSCE Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
CSO Committee of Senior Officials
CT Comparative Theory
DIIS Danish Institute for International Studies
E.S.D.P. European Spatial Development Perspective
EC/EEC European Communities/European Economic Community
ECPR European Consortium for Political Research
EE/EST Estonia
EFTA European Free Trade Association
EIoP European Integration Online Papers
EIPA European Institute of Public Administration
EIT European Integration Theory
EMU European Monetary Union
ENP European Neighbourhood Policy
ENPI European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument
EPJ embedded projects
ERDF European Regional Development Fund
EU European Union
EU ND/ND EU Northern Dimension
EU-ISS European Institute for Security Studies
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GAERC General Affairs and External Relations Council
GDR German Democratic Republic
GRI grass root initiatives
HDI Human Development Index
HELCOM Helsinki Commission
IFI International Financial institutions
IGA intergovernmental associations
IGC Intergovernmental Conference
IR/IRT International Relations/International Relations Theory
IRE international regimes
LT Lithuania
LV Latvia
NATO Northern Atlantic Treaties Organisation
NB8 Nordic-Baltic-Eight
ND AP Northern Dimension Action Plan
NDEP Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership
NDI Northern Dimension Initiative
NGOs non-governmental organisations
NIFIN Nordic Institute in Finland
NL The Netherlands
NNI New Neighbourhood Instrument
NORDI Northern Dimension Research Centre
NRA New Regionalism Approach
PCA Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
PHARE Poland and Hungary: Aid for Restructuring of the Economies
PJ self-organising projects
PfP Partnership for Peace
RSCT Regional Seucirty Complex Theory
SEA Single European Act
TACIS Technical Aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States
TEU Treaty on the European Union
TFCMA Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance
TNA transnational associations
UBC Union of the Baltic Cities
US/USA United States of America
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
VASAB Visions and Strategies about the Baltic
WZB Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin
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References
Zusammenfassung
Seit 1989 ist es im Ostseeraum zu einer explosionsartigen Entstehung einer Vielzahl von regionalen Initiativen und Zusammenschlüssen gekommen. Der Ostseeraum weist bis heute eine europaweit einzigartig hohe Konzentration an kooperativen regionalen Strukturen auf. Diese bilden gemeinsam ein enges Netzwerk von Vereinigungen, die unter dem Überbegriff der "Ostseezusammenarbeit’ interagieren.
Diese Studie analysiert die Hintergründe dieses regionalen Phänomens oder so genannten „Ostsee-Rätsels“ auf Basis eines Vergleichs zwischen den Regionalpolitiken zweier staatlicher Schlüsselakteure, Schweden und Finnland, wobei der europäische Integrationsprozess als übergeordneter Bezugsrahmen für die Untersuchung dient.