Bulletin n. 3/2011 | ||
February 2012 | ||
Marianne Riddervold |
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From reason-giving to collective action: Argument-based learning and European integration | ||
in Cooperation and Conflict , 46 (4) , 2011 , 563-580 | ||
The aim of this article is to contribute to the further development of deliberative theory—to make it more applicable to research on EU integration—by establishing alternative and more concise micro-mechanisms to those of the rationalist bargaining perspectives. It is suggested that the micro-mechanism through which deliberation has an effect on outcomes is what is termed argument-based learning, which means that an actor accepts the validity of a presented argument so that (s)he acts upon it. Moreover, the article differentiates between three types of argument-based learning considered relevant in the EU context. On this basis, it suggests a two-step analytical approach for studies of EU decision-making processes. In trying out the empirical relevance of the framework, it is applied to a case where one would not expect agreements on common EU policies to have been reached due to argument-based learning, namely EU coordination towards the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). The framework proved helpful in accounting for agreements that are puzzling from a rationalist perspective. | ||