Methods and Research Design

Abstract

Starting from the understanding of territorial borders developed in the previous chapters and the EU’s institutional structure, which defines the conditions for the policy on external borders, this chapter will devise a viable research design for analysing the institutionalization of the EU’s external borders. The conceptualization of such a procedure must take into account two interwoven aspects: first, institutionalized patterns of cooperation between the EU and its neighbouring states; and second, the political actors that are involved in and promote the institutionalization of the external EU-borders. These considerations are directly linked with the research interest underlying this study. As the main concern is with the question of how the pattern of concentric circles and the incorporation of the neighbouring countries into the EU’s border regime come into existence, and whether these phenomena are of idiosyncratic nature or linked with the EU’s distinct qualities, we first need to identify where this pattern is most developed. Starting from such a case selection, the project will trace how the preferences of the member states’ line ministries are formed and how they contribute to the institutional development of the external EU-border between Poland and Ukraine, as well as to the migration and border related EU-cooperation policies with Ukraine.