The epistemic dimension of European integration

Abstract

This paper departs from the assumption that European integration – in addition to the dimensions of political institutions, markets, and European Union (EU) law – also comprises an epistemic dimension. This dimension contains the concepts and meanings that tell us what an integrated Europe “is,” how it works, and how we could evaluate it. Against this background, the paper develops an account to discuss the role of EU studies in the broader process of European integration. Its particular focus is on how EU studies co-produce conceptual discourses and representations of the EU together with EU politics. Moreover, these concepts and representations inform institutions that link those academic communities to the EU and make the development of EU studies a partial dimension of European integration.