Differentiated Integration as a Fair Scheme of Cooperation

26 Pages Posted: 17 Apr 2019 Last revised: 10 Jan 2022

See all articles by Richard Bellamy

Richard Bellamy

University College London - Department of Political Science

Sandra Kröger

University of Exeter - Department of Politics

Date Written: April 1, 2019

Abstract

Differentiated integration (DI), whereby some MS opt out or are excluded from certain common EU policies for sovereignty or capacity reasons, may be thought to undermine the EU’s functioning as what John Rawls called a fair scheme of cooperation, grounded in norms of impartiality and reciprocity. However, we argue that different forms of DI can be compatible with either fair cooperation between states on the model of Rawls’ Law of Peoples or cooperation among citizens on the model of Rawls’ two principles of domestic justice. Meanwhile, the EU has features of both, being an international Union of states and a supra- and trans- national Union of citizens. We defend the coherence of this combination and contend that DI can provide a justified mechanism for overcoming conflicts between the two to ensure fairness between states remains compatible with fairness between citizens both within and across states. Indeed it offers a potential model for other forms of international cooperation, such as the WTO or the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, involving socio-economically and politico-culturally heterogenous states.

Keywords: European Union, differentiated integration, integration theory, heterogeneity

Suggested Citation

Bellamy, Richard and Kröger, Sandra, Differentiated Integration as a Fair Scheme of Cooperation (April 1, 2019). Richard Bellamy & Sandra Kröger (2021) Differentiated integration as a fair scheme of cooperation, Review of Social Economy, DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2021.1968477, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3373593 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3373593

Richard Bellamy (Contact Author)

University College London - Department of Political Science ( email )

Gower Street
London
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/browse/profile?upi=RBELL43

Sandra Kröger

University of Exeter - Department of Politics ( email )

Amory Building
Rennes Drive
Exeter, Devon EX4 4RJ
United Kingdom

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