Union strategies

Question 1

Globalization

Answer 1

Transnational flows and interactions devoid of global supranational political and social structures

Question 2

How is Europeanization different from Globalization?

Answer 2

Globalization does not have an international body that enforces globally international treaties. Governments have to opt into these treaties.

European Union is not a matter of opting in, everyone is expected to obey the political decisions of the EU

Question 3

Europeanization

Answer 3

Transnational flows and interactions in the framework of supranational political and social structures

Question 4

Characteristics of EU (2)

Answer 4

1. Eu has direct effect - citizens can go to the court of EU and claim their rights under the EU
2. The treatise of the EU acts as a constitution that gives the citizens the right to go to court and enforce their rights

Question 5

What strategies can unions adopt in response to Globalization and Europeanisation processes?

Answer 5

1. The Euro-democratization strategy
2. The Euro-technocratization strategy
3. The democratic renationalization strategy
4. The technocratic renationalization strategy

Question 6

The euro-democratization strategy goal

Answer 6

Goal: Encourage European Collective action
- Requires a sense of community amongst its citizens

How? Common identity

Question 7

Euro-democratization strategy Pros & Cons

Answer 7

Pro: Making the EU more democratic could allow for more union voice and increase union’s power resources

Con: Lack of european public sphere and european demos –> national culture, linguistic, and political differences within the EU (through legislations and politics)

Question 8

The Euro-technocratization strategy

Answer 8

Aims to integrate the leading unionists into the existing technocratic EU policy networks

Question 9

The Euro-technocratization strategy pro (2)

Answer 9

1. Would legitimize the EU-level union structures
2. Might prove successful if EU institutions could continue to see union participation as favorable because of unions expertise and legitimacy in some areas such as social and employment policy

Question 10

The Euro-technocratization strategy con(2)

Answer 10

1. Unions might lose sight of their broader goals of economic, social, and political emancipation and cause unions to become very narrow
2. Theory is that the greater the impact of EU policy making and the weaker the power resources of the unions, the more labor will pursue a Euro-technocratization strategy

Question 11

The democratic renationalization strategy

Answer 11

Protect the autonomy and decision making ability of individual nations in a world that is becoming increasingly globalized (ex. Brexit)

Implies that unions, employers, and political leaders have joint national interests

Question 12

The democratic renationalization strategy pros

Answer 12

1. Unions consider the political situation in their country better than in other countries. Confidence in one’s national power resources could persuade one to focus on national and political policies.
2. Increases autonomy of nation state
3. Governments can be held accountable only if they can implement the will of the citizens

Question 13

The democratic renationalization strategy cons (2)

Answer 13

1. The rise of economic globalization and the decline of egalitarian Keynesian politics undermines the prospects of social democratic or democratic socialism in a single country
2. Less impact on global decisions

Question 14

The Technocratic renationalization strategy

Answer 14

Goal: Focus on policy decision making on the national-level

Occurs when the union feasibly cannot have a strong impact on policy making on the EU level

Question 15

Technocratic renationalization strategy pros

Answer 15

Social actors contribute to technocratic renationalization if they support competition-state nationalism

Question 16

The Technocratic renationalization strategy cons

Answer 16

However, the rise of economic globalization and the decline of egalitarian Keynesian politics, undermines the prospects of social democratic of democratic socialism in a single country