Cooperation in the Face of Transboundary Crisis: A Framework for Analysis. European Union Studies Association, Miami

Abstract

The nation state is discovering the limits of its crisis management capacities. Events such as Ebola and Zika, the downing of flight MH17 over the Ukraine, sinking ships with refugees, cyber attacks and urban terrorism serve as reminders that crises faced at home often originate in far-away and unsuspected domains. As the transboundary dimensions of many crises and disasters increasingly manifest themselves, the need for international cooperation appears ever clearer. But it does not always happen, even in the European Union. This prompts our question: Why do EU member states elect to cooperate in response to some transboundary crises and not to others? We bring together the crisis and collective action literature to formulate a theoretical framework that can help to answer these questions.