“欧洲：从民族国家到国家联盟”
我们的研究项目旨在研究欧洲一体化的方方面面，其中，以欧洲一体化的规范化、欧洲公共政策和欧洲对外关系为重点。我们也考察在历史背景下欧洲一体化的重要事项，从而分析在各事项领域里欧洲过去的分裂及其历史演进。如此一来，我们的研究涵盖了欧洲现在的一体化进程和它们的历史背景。
该研究项目是多学科交叉的产物。本中心的研究机构及其联合研究机构关注着欧洲一体化的历史、政治、经济和法律各层面。虽然各专业领域的类似研究早在很久以前已盛行西方，在中国关于欧洲一体化问题的一个多学科研究提议却罕见。我们作为一个多学科交叉的研究中心，对组织这种类型的研究尤为合适。此外，本中心将确保研究活动的各项成果与中心的相关教学计划（前述）相结合。
我们的研究主题由以下四个专门研究部分（从欧洲的历史演进到现在的欧洲一体化）展开：现代国家和资本主义在欧洲的兴起和发展，欧洲宪法和欧洲一体化的规范化，欧洲比较公共政策以及欧洲对外关系。这四个研究部分是相互关联的。研究现代国家和资本主义在欧洲的兴起和发展为理解现在欧洲一体化的产生提供了基础，另外三个研究部分则和欧洲一体化的各重要方面相关。关于欧洲宪法和欧洲一体化的规范化的研究建立在对欧洲历史演进的理解之上，并以一体化进程中欧洲共同体(identity）的建设为研究重心；欧洲共同体的建设和冲突对我们理解另一研究部分——欧洲公共政策的制定——同样重要。在政策制定过程中如何协调各种政治、经济和社会利益在此研究部分中是个中心问题。最后，关于欧洲对外关系的研究则通过研究外交联系对欧洲共同体建设和冲突的影响来回应欧洲一体化的相关诉求。
研究活动包括实地调查，档案研究，定期小组研讨，专题研究会，会谈，工作论文、期刊论文和专题文章的撰写及国际会议的组织（详见活动计划）。以下是关于研究活动构成的详述。
1．现代国家和资本主义在欧洲的兴起和发展及其对欧洲一体化的启示
此部分旨在为欧洲现代化进程及其对欧洲一体化的启示提供综合广泛的研究。拥有不同专业背景的学者将在此研究有关欧洲现代化进程的们历史、政治、经济和法律各个层面及其启示。我们在此部分研究中提出的关键问题包括：欧洲如何以及为何做出重大转变？国际和国内政治体系如何发展？导致资本家发展的主要原因为何？欧洲的观念如何改变和演化？现代法律体系是如何建立的？虽然这部分研究以欧洲的过去为焦点，我们仍想让它与当前状况形成对话。首先，我们想了解欧洲一体化的历史背景，比如，欧洲如何发展成今天的面貌？显然，这将加深中国对欧洲一体化的理解。其次，中国政治、经济和社会发展的当前阶段负载着与欧洲初期转变相类似的情形。一个关于欧洲兴起的详尽研究将有助于中国更好地理解及处理自己当前的问题。
2．欧洲宪法和欧洲一体化的规范化
欧洲一体化进程不仅仅包含通常所描述的三大块，还涉及欧洲公民一体化的规范化。其中最重要的是，欧洲认同的发展将替代或补充已有的民族认同。“欧盟宪法”的起草或许将证实为在欧洲公民中建立欧洲共同体的重要一步。“欧洲宪法”将如哈布马斯所称欧洲一体化的“共同体标志”发挥其作用。
研究是实证与规范并举的。首先，研究将分析上个世纪欧洲一体化计划的历史，并追踪欧洲共同体观念的发展。其次，我们将和欧洲学者合作以展开关于欧洲人民对欧盟宪法的接受问题的实证和规范性研究。研究将为欧洲一体化进程中规范融合事项提供综合分析。
3．欧洲比较公共政策
公共政策及其制定机制处于欧洲一体化进程中大转变的背景中。理解这个转变将有助于我们对欧洲政策方向有更好的把握。该项目旨在研究欧洲各种类型的公共政策，包括工业政策、就业政策、环境政策、社会政策等等。我们对政策制定过程及其发起和改变有很大兴趣。这些关于政策的比较和研究将在以下两个层面开展。首先，我们将政策分为三类，例如，社会政策，经济政策和环境政策。研究那些政策主要与收入分配和福利、产业调整、环境政策以及法律制定的政治学、政治经济学相关，其次，政策研究在本质上是比较的，包括跨国家比较和跨地区比较。前者涉及欧盟成员国之间，而后者则是欧洲，北美和东亚之间的比较。
4．欧洲对外关系
欧洲对外关系与欧洲一体化之间是塑造与被塑造的关系，因此这部分研究将有助于我们揭示欧洲对外关系及其对一体化的影响，更重要的是，认识欧盟在世界秩序中扮演的角色。在误解仍然存在的情况下，一个关于欧盟对外关系的谨慎研究也将对欧盟和中国的相互理解做出贡献。这部分研究问题包括：什么因素（国内和国外因素）影响着欧盟对外政策的形成？在这些因素中什么是最关键的？这些对外政策由谁制定以及他们是怎么制定的？谁充当着最主要的角色？欧盟及其成员国之间的权限和关系如何，等等。更广义的问题还包括：欧盟在维持世界和平及安全中扮演的角色，欧盟地区和平和安全中的国家权力认同。
“Europe: from nation states to the state of nations”
The main aim of our research is to study various aspects of European integration, in particular, with the emphasis on the normative integration of Europe, public policies of Europe, and Europe’s external relations. We also examine the key issues of European integration in a historical setting, to analyse the separated Europe of the past and historical evolutions in different issue areas. Thus, we will study both current integration of Europe and their historical background.
The research programme is an interdisciplinary one. The faculty and the associate faculty of the Centre are doing research in historical, political, economic and legal aspects of European integration. Although similar research in different academic disciplines has been done in the West since a long time ago, an interdisciplinary approach to this question is rare in China. As an interdisciplinary research centre, the Centre is particularly suitable to organize this type of research. Moreover, the Centre will make sure the achievements of the research activities shall be incorporated into the relevant teaching programmes of the Centre as mentioned earlier.
The general theme of our research is carried out by the following four specific parts of research (from historical evolution of Europe to current European integration): the rise and development of modern states and capitalism in Europe, European constitution and the normative integration of Europe, comparative public policy in Europe, and European external relations. These four parts of research are inter-connected. Research on the rise and development of modern states and capitalism in Europe provides a foundation for understanding how the current European integration comes about, and the next three parts of research are all about important aspects of European integration. Research on European constitution and the normative integration of Europe is built on the understanding of European historical evolution and focuses on the construction of European identity for current integration; identity construction and conflict are also important for us to understand the making of public policy in Europe, which is the next part of research. How to coordinate different political, economic and social interests in the process of policy making is a central theme in this part of research. Finally, research on European external relations completes the quest for European integration by studying the impact of external links on the construction and conflict of European identity.
Research activities include fieldwork, archive research, regular group discussions, seminars and talks, writing working papers, journal articles and monographs, and organizing an international conference (see the action plan). The following is a more detailed description on the components of the research activities:
1. Rise and development of modern states and capitalism in Europe and their implications for European integration
This part of research aims to provide a comprehensive study on European modernization process and its implications on European integration. Scholars from different academic backgrounds will study historical, political, economic and legal aspects of the process and its implications. The key research questions we will ask in this part of research are: how and why did Europe make the great transformation? How did international and domestic political system evolve? What are the main causes of capitalist development? How did the idea of Europe change and evolve? How was modern legal system built? Although our research focus is Europe’s past, we want this part of research to speak to the present situation. First, we want to know the historical background of European integration, i.e. how did Europe become what it is today? Obviously this will help people in China understand European integration better. Second, the current stage of political, economic and social development in China bears certain resemblances to the early transformation of Europe. A detailed study of the rise of Europe can help China understand and deal with its current problems better.
2. European constitution and the normative integration of Europe
The process of European integration not only involves the three pillars as generally described, but also involved normative integration of European citizens. Most important of those is the development of European identity, instead of, or in addition of the national identity as developed in the modern period. The draft of the “EU Constitution”, as it has been so called, may prove to be an important step for the formation of European identity among European citizens. “EU Constitution” may function as what Habmas called “symbol of the identity” for European integration.
The research is both normative and empirical. First, it will analyze history of ideas of European integration in the last century, and trace the development of the notion of common European identity. Secondly, it will cooperate with European scholars to conduct certain empirical research on the reception of EU constitution among European people through both normative and empirical studies. It will provide comprehensive analysis on the issue of normative integration in the process of European integration.
3. Comparative public policy in Europe
Public policy and the mechanism of its making are under a great transformation in the process of European integration. Understanding this transformation will help us to have a better sense of European policy direction. This project aims to study various public policies in Europe, including industrial policy, employment policy, environmental policy, social policy and etc. We are interested in policy-making processes, and the origins and changes of those policies. This policy research and comparison will proceed with the following two dimensions. First, we divide policies into three categories, i.e. social policies, economic policies and environmental policies. Study of those policies is mainly concerned with politics and political economy of income distribution and welfare, industrial adjustment, and environmental policy and law making. Second, our policy research is comparative in nature. The comparison includes both across-country comparison and across-region one. The former refers to comparison between EU member states, while the latter suggests comparison between Europe, North America and East Asia.
4. European external relations
European external relations both shape and are shaped by European integration, so research in this area can help us to undercover the external links of Europe and their impact on European integration, and more importantly the role of the EU in the contemporary world order. A careful study of EU external relations will also contribute to a better mutual understanding between EU and China, where misunderstanding still exists. The research questions include: what elements (both internal and external elements) affect the shaping of the EU external policies? What are the central elements in the shaping and contents of the EU external policies of the EU? Who made them and how they were made? Who are the most important actors? What are the competences and relations between EU and Member States in this area, etc. Broader questions may also include: the role of the EU in maintaining world peace and security, the identity of the national authority in the area of peace and security.
