DICHOTOMIES OF SUPRANATIONAL SOCIALISATION AND THEIR RELEVANCE FOR EMPIRICAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OFFICIALS

Abstract

Research on socialisation in supranational environments such as the EU institutions has to face the complexity and diversity of the socialisation process. Theoretical differentiations can provide useful analytical frameworks, but all are not equally suitable for specific research purposes. They often take the form of dichotomies, such as the basic differentiation of socialisation as process and product. As shown by Zürn and Checkel, two important distinctions can be applied to supranational socialisation: actor’s behaiviour vs their properties, and agent vs structure. This paper argues that another dichotomy, one between causal and constitutive relations, is theoretically significant and analytically useful, in particular for research embedded in IR constructivism. It provides an empirical application of eight aspects of socialisation produced by the three dichotomies taken together, based on interviews with Council officials. Afterwards, it discusses what can be gathered from this illustration for further research.