Differentiated European Integration and the Changing Type of Capitalism in Central Europe

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyse the double-layered diversification of the European integration system represented by the countries of Central Europe (CE). Here exemplified by the Visegrad Four (V4) states (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Czechia), the region offers a unique laboratory of European differentiated integration (DI). The V4 positions itself on the outer-core of the European Union hemispheres. At the same time, the bloc itself is internally diversified in various, important aspects of integration (conflicting trajectories with Brussels, monetary integration, energy policy, relations with Russia, etc.). Unpacking this intra-V4 diversity will be accompanied by an exploration of the economic and institutional factors possibly affecting it. The political-economy perspective allows us to capture the determinants intersecting at the crossroads of economic and political dimensions. The authors will explore the selected building blocks of the system of differentiation inside the V4 group.