9411196 Tsebelis This Dissertation Improvement research examines how the relationship between the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the member states of the European Court affects the ability of the ECJ to achieve integrationist goals. This research will test empirically several hypotheses about the institutional constraints on ECJ decision making and the level of member states' support required for the ECJ to render "pro" decisions that are not mere dead letters. This grant provides funds for travel to field research locations that are necessary to construct a dataset of all common market cases adjudicated by the ECJ from 1958-1992. The dataset will allow systematic empirical investigation of decision making in the European Parliament. The dataset will include the different decisions of the Parliament, their history (whether they came out of committee, or were proposed on the floor), their support basis (the coalition that made them successful), and their ultimate fate (whether they were accepted by the other European institutions, and whether they became European law). This research will contribute to an understanding of European integration that goes beyond what has been provided by current relevant theories of neo-functionalism and intergovernmentalism.
