Articulating Subsidiarity
(2005)Department of Political Science
- Abstract
- Taking its theoretical point of departure in discourse theory this thesis endeavours to provide an enhanced understanding of subsidiarity in a European context. By analysing the discoursive response by the European elite to the dislocatory force of the 1992 crisis, it is argued that subsidiarity was used as a nodal point in the construction of a myth of the EU as a political system close to its citizens. The political vacuum that followed the construction of this myth was, however, not successfully filled out by a hegemonic intervention in one of the following two intergovernmental conferences. The European Convention marked a Foucauldian key shift in history that allowed for the articulatory practice of various discourses taking their... (More)
- Taking its theoretical point of departure in discourse theory this thesis endeavours to provide an enhanced understanding of subsidiarity in a European context. By analysing the discoursive response by the European elite to the dislocatory force of the 1992 crisis, it is argued that subsidiarity was used as a nodal point in the construction of a myth of the EU as a political system close to its citizens. The political vacuum that followed the construction of this myth was, however, not successfully filled out by a hegemonic intervention in one of the following two intergovernmental conferences. The European Convention marked a Foucauldian key shift in history that allowed for the articulatory practice of various discourses taking their outset in other perspectives than those of the Member State governments. These discourses were this way allowed to try to fill the political vacuum created by the myth of an EU close to its citizens. The thesis argues that two hegemonic projects engaged in this articulatory practice of trying to establish a hegemonic discourse capable of arresting the meaning of subsidiarity. The parliamentary control discourse succeeded in doing so although only by rearticulating some of the moments of the closeness discourse into its discursive structure. However, the established hegemony is not deprived of the discoursive contingency and the rejection of the Constitution by one or more Member States will face this hegemonic discourse with the threat of dislocation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1330245
- author
- Jensen, Jacob
- supervisor
- organization
- year
- 2005
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Subsidiarity, European Convention, discourse theory, national parliaments, regions and local authorities, Political and administrative sciences, Statsvetenskap, förvaltningskunskap
- language
- English
- id
- 1330245
- date added to LUP
- 2005-06-20 00:00:00
- date last changed
- 2005-06-20 00:00:00
@misc{1330245,
abstract = {{Taking its theoretical point of departure in discourse theory this thesis endeavours to provide an enhanced understanding of subsidiarity in a European context. By analysing the discoursive response by the European elite to the dislocatory force of the 1992 crisis, it is argued that subsidiarity was used as a nodal point in the construction of a myth of the EU as a political system close to its citizens. The political vacuum that followed the construction of this myth was, however, not successfully filled out by a hegemonic intervention in one of the following two intergovernmental conferences. The European Convention marked a Foucauldian key shift in history that allowed for the articulatory practice of various discourses taking their outset in other perspectives than those of the Member State governments. These discourses were this way allowed to try to fill the political vacuum created by the myth of an EU close to its citizens. The thesis argues that two hegemonic projects engaged in this articulatory practice of trying to establish a hegemonic discourse capable of arresting the meaning of subsidiarity. The parliamentary control discourse succeeded in doing so although only by rearticulating some of the moments of the closeness discourse into its discursive structure. However, the established hegemony is not deprived of the discoursive contingency and the rejection of the Constitution by one or more Member States will face this hegemonic discourse with the threat of dislocation.}},
author = {{Jensen, Jacob}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Articulating Subsidiarity}},
year = {{2005}},
}