Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones: The Empowerment of EU Agencies in EU Border Management

摸着石头过河：欧盟机构在欧盟边境管理中的赋权

• 批准号: ES/Y008146/1
• 负责人: Yichen Zhong
• 金额: $ 14.69万
• 依托单位: Aston University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FY008146%2F1
• 关键词: Crossing; River; Feeling; Stones; Empowerment

This fellowship presents a significant opportunity to advance my academic career by building upon my PhD research, collecting additional data, producing and disseminating high-quality research outputs. As for the wider context for my PhD research, we see a continuation of threat perceptions and decision-making patterns that have dominated EU border controls since their inception in 1999. A string of terrorist attacks in the early 2000s brought border controls and internal security to the heart of EU political and bureaucratic practices. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commonly known as Frontex, was accordingly set up in 2004 and became operational at a speed highly unusual for the Union bodies. Within the framework of the European integrated border management, other EU agencies (e.g. European Union Agency for Asylum) that were set up to respond to other policy needs have increasingly collaborated with Frontex and involved in border controls and surveillance. Against this backdrop, my PhD research interrogates how the empowerment of the concerned agencies has shaped the EU's approach to external borders. Its primary objective is to map the proliferation of EU agencies in border management, understand the underlying mechanisms, and identify challenges and opportunities in implementing EU integrated border management.By analysing the evolution of Frontex's joint operations, access to information, inter-agency cooperation, and international action, my research demonstrates that the initial delegation to Frontex created gaps in Member States' control over subsequent institutional fine-tuning. This has led to a self-reinforcing coordination approach to border control, diminishing Member States' policy autonomy, and strengthening the EU regulation on border management. Moreover, the empowerment of the concernedagencies has contributed to the institutionalisation of common administrative capacity at the EU level and an enhanced cooperation with third countries in migration controls. My thesis thus challenges intergovernmental accounts of EU external borders policy that prioritise Member States'sovereignty and downplay the role of EU bodies in transnational coordination and policy implementation.In addition to enriching our empirical knowledge of EU border management dynamics, my research also contributes to the advance of the principal-agent model by relaxing the model's restrictive assumption of information asymmetry. By integrating the model with insights from historical institutionalism, the research unveils the role of endogenous dynamics and institutional inertia in gradual institutional change. It highlights that, rather than being passive actors in the system, the concerned agencies have actively shaped the institutional context in which they operate and the ways in which they interact with other policy actors. Ultimately, the research suggests that the concerned agencies are not only an important part of the EU's border regime, but also have strong potential to shape the course of European integration.This fellowship provides a valuable opportunity for me to further enrich my research by collecting additional data through deskwork, interviews and fieldwork. These will solidify the theoretical framework and empirical findings of my research. Furthermore, the field research component will offer a unique platform for me to engage with a diverse range of stakeholders and expand my professional network. This interaction with subject matter experts and peers will be instrumental in shaping my future academic pursuits, as it will provide me with a deeper understanding of the field and opportunities to collaborate with leading researchers in the field.

该奖学金为我提供了一个重要的机会，可以通过在我的博士研究基础上、收集更多数据、产生和传播高质量的研究成果来推进我的学术生涯。至于我的博士研究的更广泛背景，我们看到自 1999 年欧盟边境管制成立以来，威胁认知和决策模式一直主导着欧盟边境管制的延续。2000 年代初期的一系列恐怖袭击使边境管制和内部安全受到影响。欧盟政治和官僚实践的核心。欧洲边境和海岸警卫队 (European Border and Coast Guard Agency)，俗称 Frontex，于 2004 年相应成立，并以联盟机构中极不寻常的速度开始运作。在欧洲综合边境管理框架内，为响应其他政策需求而设立的其他欧盟机构（例如欧盟庇护机构）也越来越多地与 Frontex 合作并参与边境管制和监视。在此背景下，我的博士研究探讨了相关机构的授权如何塑造欧盟处理外部边界的方式。其主要目标是绘制欧盟边境管理机构的扩散图，了解其基本机制，并确定实施欧盟综合边境管理的挑战和机遇。通过分析 Frontex 联合行动、信息获取、机构间合作的演变，和国际行动，我的研究表明，最初向 Frontex 的授权在成员国对后续机构微调的控制方面造成了差距。这导致了边境管制的自我强化协调方式，削弱了成员国的政策自主权，并加强了欧盟对边境管理的监管。此外，相关机构的授权有助于欧盟层面共同行政能力的制度化，并加强与第三国在移民管制方面的合作。因此，我的论文对欧盟外部边境政策的政府间解释提出了挑战，这些解释优先考虑成员国的主权，并淡化欧盟机构在跨国协调和政策实施中的作用。除了丰富我们对欧盟边境管理动态的经验知识外，我的研究还有助于通过放松模型对信息不对称的限制性假设来改进委托代理模型。通过将该模型与历史制度主义的见解相结合，该研究揭示了内生动力和制度惯性在渐进制度变迁中的作用。它强调，相关机构不是系统中的被动参与者，而是积极塑造了它们运作的制度环境以及它们与其他政策参与者互动的方式。最终，研究表明，相关机构不仅是欧盟边境制度的重要组成部分，而且具有塑造欧洲一体化进程的强大潜力。该奖学金为我提供了一个宝贵的机会，可以通过收集更多的信息来进一步丰富我的研究。通过案头工作、访谈和实地调查获得的数据。这些将巩固我的研究的理论框架和实证结果。此外，实地研究部分将为我提供一个独特的平台，让我能够与各种利益相关者互动并扩大我的专业网络。与主题专家和同行的这种互动将有助于塑造我未来的学术追求，因为它将使我对该领域有更深入的了解，并有机会与该领域的领先研究人员合作。