Joachim Hesse, born in Berlin, Germany, in 1942. Ph.D. from Universität zu Köln. Professor of Political and Administrative Sciences at Freie Universität Berlin, and Director of the International Institute for Comparative Government and European Policy (ISE).
Fellow (1 November 2007 – 28 February 2008)
NATION STATE – EU RELATIONSHIPS
My project concentrated on the process of constitution-giving in Europe, and here on a number of overlooked or underestimated problems in the relationships between the European Union and its Member States. It tried, therefore, to identify the underlying dynamics of this process, following the hypothesis that the alleged sui generis character of the EU stands in the way of a Europeanisation that ought to better incorporate the positive traditions, cultural preconditions and tried practices within the European nation-states. The work at NIAS allowed for a sharpening of the analytical findings so far and for adding further empirical evidence to the issues under consideration. Empirically, three policy areas, apart from foreign and security issues, stood out: agricultural, environmental protection, and research and development. On all of them, intensive interviews were conducted with representatives of Dutch Universities, Dutch Ministries and the EU Commission. The findings will be incorporated into a monograph entitled “Towards a workable and legitimate European Union”.