Swinging Peripheries and Centres in the EU: Comparative Takes

Abstract [En]: This paper examines the centre–periphery cleavage in the context of the European Union, assessing unequal relationships and developmental dynamics among its Member States in order to highlight interconnections, power imbalances, and economic disparities. The centre–periphery model, together with comparative law and legal geography methodologies, serves as a methodological framework to illustrate the configuration and reconfiguration of EU Member States in times of crisis: the economic and pandemic crises, the refugee crisis, and the current value-based crisis.

Title: Periferie e centri oscillanti nell'UE: approcci comparativi

Abstract [It]: Il saggio affronta la tematica de cleavage centro-periferia nel contesto dell’Unione Europea, evidenziando le dinamiche evolutive e le divergenze tra i diversi Stati Membri, con riferimento agli squilibri di potere e alle disparità giuridico-economiche. Il modello “centro-periferia”, insieme allo studio comparato del diritto e alla Legal Geography forniscono efficaci strumenti metodologici per descrivere la configurazione/riconfigurazione del centro e della periferia dell’Unione, specie in tempi di crisi: dalla crisi economica alla pandemia, dalla crisi migratoria all’attuale conflitto sull’interpretazione dei valori.

Keywords: Centre-periphery approach, European Union, economic crisis, refugee crisis, European values, Article 2 TEU, comparative law, legal geography

Parole chiave: Approccio centro-periferia; Unione Europea, crisi economica, crisi dei rifugiati, Valori europei; Articolo 2 TUE; diritto comparato, geografia giuridica

Summary: 1. The Centre-Periphery Cleavage as a Key Analytical Framework. 2. The Formation of Centres and Peripheries within the EU integration process. 3. The Economic Cleavage: from the Financial Crisis to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 4. The Solidarity Cleavage in Refugee and Migration Management. 5. The Value-based Cleavage. 6. To Conclude: Towards Even More Swinging Cleavages?