Synthesis without compromise: a political economy of industries in Europe
Résumé
Studying the politics of economic activity certainly necessitates drawing upon relevant literatures from at leas t economics, political science, sociology and history. However, scholars of the EU's political economy all too often mix these multi-disciplinary sources of data and their interpretation into cocktails of disconnected descriptions and incoherent theory. This paper will argue instead that genuinely inter-disciplinary research on the politics of Europe's economy can only be achieved by disciplining it with consistent theorizing, research design and interpretation of empirical findings. It first proposes an approach that seeks to achieve this aim by combining both constructivist and institutionalist epistemology and ontology with methodological lessons from compatible branches of sociology. This approach is then illustrated using finding from a research program on the EU's government of industries, and that of pharmaceuticals in particular. Involving economists and political scientists, this research has consistently shown this government's drivers to be conflict and cooperation over values (i.e. politics). Overall, the argument developed throughout this paper concurs that theories of European integration, its causes and its effects should mobilize syntheses of literatures inspired by different social science disciplines and paradigms. However, for the theory ultimately proposed to be heuristic and socially relevant, it cannot contain compromises over key concepts and their articulation within coherent analytical frameworks.
Domaines
Science politique
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
Loading...