Twenty years ago, in the pages of the, Journal of Common Market Studies, Hedley Bull launched a searing critique of the European Community's "civilian power" in international affairs. Since that time the increasing role of the European Union (EU) in areas of security and defence policy has led to a seductiveness in adopting the notion of "military power Europe". In contrast, I will attempt to argue that by thinking beyond traditional conceptions of the EU's international role and examining the case study of its international pursuit of the abolition of the death penalty, we may best conceive of the EU as a "normative power Europe".

Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms?

A number of possible advantages of industry agglomeration—or spatial clustering—have been identified in the research literature, notably those related to shared costs for infrastructure, the build-up of a skilled labour force, transaction efficiency, and knowledge spillovers leading to firm learning and innovation. We identify two shortcomings of existing research on the clustering phenomenon. First, the abundance of theoretical concepts and explanations stands in sharp contrast with the general lack of work aimed at validating these mechanisms empirically and the contradictory evidence found in recent empirical work in the field. Second, there is still a lack of a unified theoretical framework for analyzing spatial clustering. In an attempt to remedy the latter shortcoming, this paper investigates the nature of the cluster from a knowledge-creation or learning perspective. We argue for the need to establish a specific theory of the cluster where learning occupies centre stage. The basic requirements for ...

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The Elusive Concept of Localization Economies: Towards a Knowledge-Based Theory of Spatial Clustering

From the Publisher:
This book sets out to examine and assess the variety of theories of information in society currently available. Frank Webster sceptically examines what thinkers mean by an information society, and looks closely at different approaches to informational developments. He provides critical commentaries on the major postwar theories: Daniel Bell's ideas on a post-industrial information society, Anthony Giddens' thoughts on the growth of surveillance and the expansion of the nation state, Herbert Schiller's insistence that information both expresses and consolidates the interests of corporate capitalism: Jurgen Habermas' account of the diminishment of the public sphere; Jean Baudrillard's thoughts on postmodernism and information, and Manuel Castells' depiction of the 'informational city'. Each theorisation is subjected to close scrutiny and is tested against empirical evidence to assess its worth. The author concludes that, while there has undoubtedly been an information explosion, it is premature to conceive of an information society. We should rather emphasise the 'informatisation' of established relations.

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Theories of the Information Society

Depending on one's point of view, multinational enterprises are either the heroes or the villains of the globalized economy. Governments compete fiercely for foreign direct investment by such companies, but complain when firms go global and move their activities elsewhere. Multinationals are seen by some as threats to national identities and wealth and are accused of riding roughshod over national laws and of exploiting cheap labor. However, the debate on these companies and foreign direct investment is rarely grounded on sound economic arguments. This book brings clarity to the debate. With the contribution of other leading experts, Giorgio Barba Navaretti and Anthony Venables assess the determinants of multinationals' actions, investigating why their activity has expanded so rapidly, and why some countries have seen more such activity than others. They analyze their effects on countries that are recipients of inward investments, and on those countries that see multinational firms moving jobs abroad. The arguments are made using modern advances in economic analysis, a case study, and by drawing on the extensive empirical literature that assesses the determinants and consequences of activity by multinationals. The treatment is rigorous, yet accessible to all readers with a background in economics, whether students or professionals. Drawing out policy implications, the authors conclude that multinational enterprises are generally a force for the promotion of prosperity in the world economy.

Multinational Firms in the World Economy

We argue that European integration is provoked and sustained by the development of causal connections between three factors: transnational exchange, supranational organization, and European Community (EC) rule-making. We explain the transition, in any given policy sector, from national to intergovernmental to supranational governance, in two ways. First cross-border transactions and communications generate a social demand for EC rules and regulation, which supranational organizations work to supply. We thus expect that Community competences will be unevenly constructed, both across policy sectors and over time, as a function of the intensity of these demands. Second, once EC rules are in place, a process of institutionalization ensues, and this process provokes further integration. Although we recognize the importance of intergovernmental bargaining in EC politics, our theory is not compatible with existing intergovernmental theorizing.

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Keith Hayward

Papers

Technological collaboration in industry: strategy, policy and internationalization in innovation

The internationalisation of research and development by multinational enterprises

Arms and the state: patterns of military production and trade

High-tech Europe: the politics of international cooperation

Reversing industrial decline? Industrial structure and policy in Britain and her competitors