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 der Übersetzung, vorbehalten. Gedruckt auf alterungsbeständigem Papier. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. Under § 54 of the German Copyright Law where copies are made for other than private use a fee is payable to »Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort«, Munich. Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://www.d-nb.de abrufbar. Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://www.d-nb.de. 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. 5 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 6 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 7 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 8 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 9 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 10 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 11 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 12 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