The State at Its Borders: Germany and the Schengen Negotiations
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The state at its borders: Germany and the Schengen negotiations Ph.D. in International Relations Franziska Doebler-Hagedorn The London School of Economics and Political Science 2003 UMI Number: U615239 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615239 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 T H t £ £ £ £ f 8o ° i2. lOZ$b°\3 Abstract The objective of this thesis is to explore Germany’s border policies in the face of a European-level intergovernmental regime for border-related policies: The Schengen Agreements (1985-1995)1. The results are twofold: The border retains an essential role for state authorities for security provision since European solutions were only sought to nationally understood security threats. Yet a new principle of internal and external borders emerged in which competence for border policies was moved to the European level and in which the interests of other states have to be taken into account as if they were the state’s own. The thesis analyses the rationale of Germany for advocating such a transfer of hitherto essentially national competence to an intergovernmental mechanism. The motive is identified in a combination of national (internal) security interests and current interpretations of historical experiences. A socialisation of Western Germany into European institutions led it to seek a European-level solution. In this context, the changes of the political landscape in 1989 had profound implications for the debate about borders. A changed security situation led to a focus on soft security matters which were connected to deep-seated uncertainties of the possible threats emanating from an unstable Eastern Europe. Germany’s relationship with its eastern neighbours had to be clarified (which included the recognition of the Oder-Neisse border), and it had to assure the Schengen partners of its ability to guard the eastern Schengen border. The thesis concludes that Germany was one of the driving forces in the Schengen negotiations. From the start, Germany advocated a set of compensatory measures which were to counteract the identified loss of the security function of the border against international crime and illegal immigration. In parallel, it also implemented significant additional changes on the national level. The resulting Schengen system established a link between freedom and security which was retained in subsequent EU arrangements. 1 Beginning of negotiations to beginning of implementation - 2 - Acknowledgements Many people helped and supported me while I wrote this thesis. Institutional support came first of all from the staff and fellow students at the LSE, not least of all Professors Chris Brown, Paul Taylor and Michael Banks who commented on the work in various stages. Thanks is also due to the staff at Sciences Po, Paris, who made my research stay there fruitful and rewarding. Prof. Bigo gave me access to the specialised archive Cat ulture & C onflits which proved most useful. The people at Statewatch were extremely helpful in getting access to documents and discussing aspects of the thesis. Heribert Prantl from the Suddeutsche Zeitung opened his personal archive for me which provided useful material. Prof. Kurt Brunner from the Bundeswehr University Neubiberg assisted me in questions of cartography. I would also like to thank a number of people who were able to give me access to important documents but preferred not to be named. Thanks is also due to my interview partners who were willing to share with me their recollections of the negotiations. In particular, I would like to thank Gunther Graf, MdB, who allowed me to look at his files and Horst Eisel, formerly with the Bundesministerium des Innern and one of the ‘fathers of Schengen’, for his time and efforts. Also the ESRC deserves thanks for not only giving me a grant, but also for the organisational support by my liaison person there. My supervisor, Prof. William Wallace, never tired of commenting on rough ideas and theories, suggesting, advising and gently pushing toward completion. I am also grateful for his reading several drafts and giving essential comments. Many colleagues and friends were happy to discuss my work and provided important new insights. Don Michael encouraged me with his enthusiasm to pursue this work. Nina Wartenberg, Maren Martschenko, Tania Campbell and Phil Young helped enormously by reading and commenting on the final draft. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends who were willing to accept my ‘disappearing’ during writing phases and encouraged me during setbacks. Special thanks goes to my grandmothers who provided financial and emotional support - as did my parents. My husband Uli accompanied the emergence of this thesis with interest and support in all possible ways. I cannot thank him enough. This thesis is dedicated to my grandfather Hans Todt who was the first to believe that this should be written. Contents ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... 3 LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................9 LIST OF FIGURES........................................... 9 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS........................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER ONE STATE BORDERS, SCHENGEN AND GERMANY................................................12 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 13 2. STATES, BORDERS AND BORDER CONTROLS................................................ 22 3. EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND BORDERS....................................................26 4. CASE STUDY GERMANY.........................................................................................31 5. EXISTING RESEARCH.............................................................................................35 6. POSITIONING OF THESIS..................................................................................... 41 7. THESIS STRUCTURE ................................................................................................ 44 CHAPTER TWO BORDERS AND THE MODERN STATE.................................................................. 46 1. BOUNDARIES AND POLITICAL BORDERS.......................................................49 2. PROBLEMS AND VARIETIES OF DEFINITION OF THE TERM “BORDER’52 2.1. European languages and terms designating ‘border’.............................................52 2.2. Usage of terms by researchers................................................................................55 2.3. Dimensions of borders...........................................................................................58 3. BORDERS AS INTRINSIC TO THE IDEA OF THE MODERN STATE 64 3.1. Ethnic and civic nations and borders....................................................................65 3.2. Borders, territoriality and international law in the modem state system.............. 69 3.2.1. Temtorial contain the ezx)lutim of the m abn ...............................................state 69 3.2.2. International law, sovereigTty and borders................................................................72 3.3. The importance of borders for the functioning of the modem state...................76 3.3.1. Symbolic andpractical functions...........................................................................76 3.3.2. The ecxtnamkjunction........................................................................................... 77 3.3.3. The identityfunction............................................................................................. 79 3.3.4. The governancejunction......................................................................................... 81 3.3.5. The differentiation junctim....................................................................................83 3.3.6. The security junction............................................................................................. 85 3.4. Borders and security.................. 87 3.4.1. External security.................................................................................................. 88 3.4.2. Internal security................................................................................................... 89 4. CONCLUSIONS ON THE ABOLITION OF BORDER CONTROLS.................92 CHAPTER THREE EVOLUTION OF THE SCHENGEN NEGOTIATIONS....................................... 95 1. COOPERATION ON JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY..................................................................................................................98 2. EARLY CIRCLES OF SECURITY EXPERTS.........................................................101 2.1. From Interpol