The role of competition in the Europeanization of the professional complex

Abstract

This contribution develops a theoretical framework in the vein of accounts of sociology of professions which highlight the role of professions in advancing social integration and the role of competition in this context. Against this theoretical backdrop, I will develops a critical account of the role of professions in the European integration. I hope to show why it is important for European Studies to pay more attention to sociology of professions and its notion of professions. Conversely, sociology of professions could learn from insights into the transnationalisation of politics and society provided by European Studies. The theoretical framework developed in this contribution will then be used to explore in a second part, through the magnifying glass of seminal rulings of the European Court of Justice, the Europeanization of the professional complex and the role of competition law in this context.

Keywords:

• Bourdieu
• competition
• Durkheim
• European Area of Higher Education
• European integration
• Gramsci
• professions
• Weber

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Poul F. Kjaer and Bob Jessop as well as the two anonymous reviewers for their comments on previous versions of this contribution. All remaining errors are my own.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Eva Hartmann is assistant professor in Sociology and Political Economy at the Department of Business and Politics, Copenhagen Business School (CBS). She has published widely in German, English, and French on the internationalization of higher education, cross-border labour mobility, international social policy, international economic sociology, and the role of law in International Political Economy. Her current research project examines the role of multinational companies in promoting an internationalization of qualification policy and standards.

Notes

1. For an excellent historical study of the differences between the professions and nation-states which also brings a gender dimension into the picture, see Malesta (2011).

2. Directive 89/48/EEC applies to higher education qualifications with a duration of three years. For the recognition of qualifications awarded on completion of professional education and training of less than three years' duration, see Directive 92/51/EEC, and Directive 1999/42/EC,

3. The conditions of participation in the Bologna Process aiming at establishing the European Area of Higher Education points out an ambivalent relationship between the European project and the USA. To make sure the USA could not take part in the Bologna Process on the basis of the Lisbon Recognition Convention, participation in this process was restricted to the signatory countries of the Council of Europe's European Cultural Convention Berlin Communiqué (2003)..

4. Consiglio Nazionale Degli Spedizionieri Doganali.

5. The study on professional regulations and their effect on competition commissioned by the European Commission provides excellent insights into the way the challenge is articulated (Schmid et al. 2007; see also Terry 2009).

Additional information

Funding

The contribution has been developed with support from the European Research Council within the project ‘Institutional Transformation in European Political Economy – A Socio-legal Approach’ (ITEPE-312331).