Politics of differentiation: enhanced cooperation in the EU and the pathfinder in APEC

A large majority of studies on differentiated integration focus their attention on closer or enhanced cooperation in the EU, neglecting similar developments in other regions, for example, the pathfinder in APEC. In comparing enhanced cooperation in the EU with the pathfinder in APEC, this article aims to discover conditions under which ideas of differentiation can emerge and then be transformed into common policies endorsed by all member states in regional integration. It shall also make clear the reasons why the pathfinder has been applied in APEC while enhanced cooperation has never been used in the EU. It will begin with a detailed categorization of sub-integrations. Then, the author comparatively analyzes the developments of enhanced cooperation in the EU and the pathfinder in APEC, and as a conclusion, evaluates the contribution of this analysis to better understanding of differentiation.

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