The European Union Non-Members ─ Independence under hegemony?

The EU is a supranational organization, whose reach and influence extend well beyond its member states. Associated parties find it difficult to delimit its influence, and the reality of these relationships may be more akin to hegemony and domination.

This book asks whether qualifying states who have eschewed EU membership - for binding co-operation through different forms of agreements or ‘associated non-member’ status - experience constitutional and democratic effects from their affiliations, or whether they manage their independence with few such effects. The hypothesis explored is that the closer the affiliation a non-member state has with the EU, the more susceptible to hegemony the relationship appears to be. In addition the book provides an overview of the total range of agreements the EU has with non-member states.

This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of in EU/European Studies, Scandinavian Studies, European and Comparative politics, International Relations, and Democratization Studies.

Erik Oddvar Eriksen is Professor in Political Science and Director of ARENA Centre for European Studies at the University of Oslo. He is co-director of the research project The Norwegian Constitution in a Changing European Context (NORCONE). His interest in legitimate rule has led to publications on the limits of the state, deliberative politics, democracy in the European Union, democratic governance, trust, the normative foundations of the welfare state, and Norway’s relationship to the European Union.

John Erik Fossum is Professor in Political Science at ARENA Centre for European Studies at the University of Oslo. He is chair of ECSA Norway and co-director of the research project The Norwegian Constitution in a Changing European Context (NORCONE). His main fields of interest include political theory, democracy, constitutionalism, and federalism in the EU and Canada.