1. The Politics of Asymmetry Revisited.
- Author
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Tanil, Gamze and Miles, Lee
- Subjects
- *
POLITICAL elites , *EUROZONE - Abstract
This paper explores more fully the complex inter-relationship between the networking strategies of the political elites in two quasi-outsider countries (Sweden and the UK) and the politics of asymmetry as outlined by Miles (2005). After reviewing the existing literature of networking strategies, the authors revisit the five asymmetry variables outlined by Miles in the âeuro-outsidersâ special issue of the Journal of European Integration (2005) in order to explore whether networking strategies can provide an explanation for how political elites handle questions relating to the politics of asymmetry in practice. The paper concludes with a brief empirical evaluation of the attitudes and behaviour of the British and Swedish political elites on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and towards the issue of being outside the euro-area given their (potentially) asymmetrical positioning in relation to other euro-area political elites. In particular, the authors will reflect upon how British and Swedish political elites manage the twin dynamics of developing coherent policies towards the euro-area while, at the same time, recognising any constraints arising from domestic political discourses that make adopting the single currency a highly contentious issue. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008