Beyond Space: Border Making in European Integration, The Case of Ireland

ABSTRACT The current ambition to enlarge the European Union (EU) from fifteen to twenty‐seven member states has brought to the fore questions about European integration and its overarching aim. On 7 June, 2001, the Irish people decided not to ratify the Nice Treaty. However, the Irish ‘no’ was not considered to be an expression of political resentment that could impinge on further development of European integration, but rather a sign of an information deficit. According to the EU top down rhetoric, the Irish people had not yet realised what it means to be, act and think as Europeans in Europe. The Irish referendum serves in this respect as a crucial juncture which brings to the surface otherwise veiled discursive power mechanisms that frame sociopolitical action within the EU discourse. This article analyses EU transcripts and speeches, as well as Irish newspaper articles prior to and after the referendum in order to depict these many‐faceted mechanisms surrounding the border‐making processes in European integration. It is argued that the Irish referendum, rather than altering the process of European integration in any significant way, has served the endeavours to fix a consolidated European Space. In other words, the European space that we live in is conceived of as if it could be presupposed beyond space.