The Increasing Weight Of The Union

This paper will focus on the main difference of certain points in two theories, idea of “capabilities” by neorealist Kenneth Waltz and idea of “power” by Hans Morgenthau. Both theorists tried to explain how the international system works and how its structure has an influence on the international politics.

The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 different countries. It consists of about half a billion citizens, and its combined economy represents about 20 percent of the world’s total economy (Briney, 2015). Today The European Union works as a single market, with free movement of people, goods and services from one country to another. There is a standard system of laws to be followed, and since 1999 many countries share a single currency called the Euro (Europa.eu, 2015). This essay will explore the background history of the European Union and the benefits and drawbacks of the European Union.

The EU was created in the midst of a war in attempts to unite Europe under a common government. After 43 years of rebuilding foreign affairs, have their attempts made a positive impact on the modern Europe? Many argue that the EU takes a toll on country's sovereignty. They lack in allowing countries to be apart of the union, without masking the unique culture and diversity of that country. Despite the advantages of being apart of the EU, the disadvantages highly outweigh them in the areas of economic, independence and cultural identity.

With regards to the claim that the European Parliament is too weak (the second of Weiler's standard version claims), Moravcsik (2002; 2003) emphasises the fact that during the last twenty years, the European Parliament is the institution which have experienced the most reforms, regarding its increase of powers, compare to the Council and the Commission. The latter argument is in fact accurate because ever since the Single European Act (1986), the European Parliament gains more and more power by reforms in every signed Treaty (Moravcsik, 2003, p. 7). Despite that, however, the Parliament is still considered to be weak compared to the other institutions, as it will be analysed later in the essay.

The constitution to say the least was ambitious and tried its best to create a happy compromise amongst the lawyers who gathered for its framing. In result the founders could did not seek to answer every question that the constitution proposed. To do so would have been near impossible and would have caused conflict amongst the diverse opinions at the convention. Instead in such thing as the preamble to the constitution phrases where put broadly for a reason. This can be seen in such phrases as “we the people” and “to form a more perfect union”. Both phrases are very broad for a reason and would lead to many questions/ controversies down the line during the experiment which was American democracy. Fineman explores the

Federalism laid the foundation of the United States of America as the powerful nation we know it today, and therefore it was ideal as an implement in the shaping of the European Union. The concept of federalism has been a part of the US’s political identity for as long as one can remember, but it has also been a key theory in intellectual and philosophical circles in the old continent. In order to outline the lessons that the European Union can learn from the success of federalism in the United

From a macro scope it is evident the EU is strong promoter democracy and has deeply embedded democratic features, however, as Peterson and Shackleton point out that “understanding politics always begins with understanding institutions not at least the EU”. Taking this advice the essay will seek to examine the two main legislative bodies within the EU,

Over the past several years, the European Union’s response to crises illustrates its resiliency, with the Union itself serving as the main support system for countries in need. Unfortunately the once prosperous European Union currently experiences a gradual decline in effectiveness. Political Scientists Sebastian Rosato and Douglas Webber highlight the issues plaguing the European Union, with Rosato focusing on post-Cold War Europe and Webber focusing on the rise of nationalists and the Union’s reliance on Germany. While each scholar takes a different approach in explaining the downfall of the Union, they each conclude that the European Union is not on a positive path. Both arguments provide valuable insight, however, Webber’s argument appears

This essay will summarize the Lisbon Treaty and the governmental and democratic consequences it will have on the EU decision making. It intends to state that Europe has the wish to change and actively tries to do so and partly succeeding, but failing to do so entirely. The treaty has been a victory for Europe over the euro skeptics, but unfortunately will not be able to push Europe much further to the place it

Another key institution that must be mentioned due to its colossal importance in this essay is the institution of the European Commission which it is supported by many academics on their thesis that it has the most power of all EU institutions. Even though I can clearly understand the reason

Anniversary of the European Community,” written by Walter A. McDougall (2007), outlines the evolution of the European Union (EU) through a two-part analysis. The first part, entitled “The Other Age Born in the Year 1957,” extols several impactful historical events in economics, the role of religion; and, the strengths and weaknesses that led to the formation of the EU. The second part, “The European Union in a Wider World” provides a closer look at Europe through the political lens focusing on events in the recent past and present. This part highlights the impacts from the events of World Trade Center on 9/11, the questionable decisions made after

This essay seeks to evaluate whether and to what extent the two traditionally dominant theoretical approaches to the European Union, being inter-governmentalism and neo-functionalism, capture the essence of the EU today. This is an important question in understanding the process of EU integration, by looking at both theories we are able to better gage which model best suits and enhances the integration process and whether this truly works, especially in the 21st century EU.

People have created unions many times but not all of them were successful, specifically when we consider alliances among number of countries with different economics, political systems and culture. For instance, last century brought both the biggest collapse and the most promising union in the modern history. Although U.S.S.R has disappeared from geographical maps, some of its members joined another alliance. The European Union (EU) is an economic and political partnership that united 28 countries on the European part of Eurasia and represents a unique form of cooperation among members today.

The European Union (EU) was established in order to prevent the horrors of modern warfare, experienced by most of Europe during the World Wars of the 20th century, from ever ensuing again, by aiming to create an environment of trust with the countries of Europe cooperating in areas such as commerce, research and trade (Adams, 2001). The EU has evolved into an economic, trade, political and monetary alliance between twenty-eight European Member States. While not all Member States are in monetary union (i.e. share the currency of the euro), those that are form the ‘Euro-zone’ (Dinan, 2006). The EU can pass a number of types of legislation, with a regulation, act, or law, being the most powerful. Its ‘tricameral’ (European Union, 2007)

Enlargement of the European Union (EU) is a contentious issue for the public and scholars alike due to its novelty, even garnering the phrase sui generis. There are many legitimate reasons for opposing enlargement, including: loss of sovereignty and autonomy, diverting efforts and resources from deepening integration between member states, and the stress being put on the institutions and economies of member states by countries with unfair trade, rampant corruption, and territorial and ethnic disputes. Regardless of the validity of these criticisms, in terms of effectiveness, enlargement proves the most powerful foreign policy tool of the European Union. I will contend this by focusing on the different foreign policy tools available to states and multi-state coalitions like the EU: diplomacy, foreign aid, and military force. Through this examination of available foreign policy tools, I will contend that enlargement combines these tools resulting in a finished product that is greater than the sum of its parts.