In the latest CEU DI Working Paper our Co-Director Laszlo Bruszt and Visnja Vukov deal with the questions of why and when we can expect change in the politicization of core-periphery relations within the EU and with what consequences for integration.

Their approach to the “why” question relies on comparative federalism, whereas their approach to the “when” question relies on the political economy of growth models. The discussion of the consequences of the politicization of core-periphery relations combines these two approaches.

They argue that the confederal EU polity contributes to the production of divisions among member states at different levels of development. The room for politicizing inequalities in integration varies among the different peripheral growth models and so do patterns of economic dependence. The greatest opportunity for transforming core-periphery relations in the EU could come from a symmetric crisis that would bring economic troubles to the core and both the Eastern and Southern peripheries simultaneously. The EU’s confederal polity is a key constraint against making a lasting commitment to mutualizing the developmental externalities of integration.

Download the paper via the link below.