Publication

This working paper makes the case for theoretically anchoring research on international organizations in more general social scientific debates. It applies sociological group theories to the analysis of the consequences of eastern enlargement for EU governance. It provides a brief introduction to EU eastern enlargement, argues that such a move can be seen as an increase of group-size and looks at oligarchization, formalization and adaptation as sociological group theories appropriate for analysis. Subsequently, the authors review the existing literature on the topic. They find that these theories can fruitfully be employed, making research less idiosyncratic and more relevant for a larger audience.