ABSTRACT
As a critical theory, the neo-Gramscian perspective used in this study ‘does not envisage any general or universally valid laws which can be explained by the development of appropriate generally applicable theories’ (Cox with Sinclair 1996:53). So far, it has been applied to the Austrian and Swedish accession to the EU, but this analysis was not supposed to lead to general findings transferable to other instances of enlargement. Only the method of investigating such cases of accession and the concepts used in the analysis can be transferred. This is the approach with which this chapter looks at the possible EU enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). While a full analysis of this process is not feasible in the limited space available, a possible application of a neo-Gramscian perspective is indicated.
