Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones: The Empowerment of EU Agencies in EU Border Management

这项奖学金为我的学术生涯提供了一个重要的机会，可以在我的博士研究的基础上，收集更多的数据，产生和传播高质量的研究成果。至于我博士研究的更广泛背景，我们看到，自1999年欧盟边境管制成立以来，威胁感知和决策模式一直主导着欧盟边境管制。本世纪初的一系列恐怖袭击使边境控制和内部安全成为欧盟政治和官僚实践的核心。因此，欧洲边境和海岸警卫局（简称Frontex）于2004年成立，并以欧盟机构中极不寻常的速度开始运作。在欧洲综合边境管理的框架内，为响应其他政策需要而设立的其他欧盟机构（如欧盟庇护署）越来越多地与Frontex合作，参与边境控制和监视。在这种背景下，我的博士研究询问了有关机构的授权如何塑造了欧盟对外部边界的态度。其主要目标是绘制欧盟边境管理机构的扩散图，了解潜在机制，并确定实施欧盟综合边境管理的挑战和机遇。通过分析Frontex联合行动、信息获取、机构间合作和国际行动的演变，我的研究表明，最初的授权给Frontex造成了成员国对随后的机构微调控制的空白。这导致了一种自我强化的边境控制协调方法，削弱了成员国的政策自主权，并加强了欧盟对边境管理的监管。此外，赋予有关机构权力有助于使欧盟一级的共同行政能力制度化，并加强与第三国在移民控制方面的合作。因此，我的论文挑战了欧盟对外边界政策的政府间解释，这些解释优先考虑成员国的主权，淡化欧盟机构在跨国协调和政策实施中的作用。除了丰富我们对欧盟边境管理动态的经验知识外，我的研究还通过放松委托代理模型对信息不对称的限制性假设，为委托代理模型的发展做出了贡献。通过将该模型与历史制度主义的见解相结合，研究揭示了内生动力和制度惯性在渐进式制度变迁中的作用。它强调，有关机构不是系统中的被动行动者，而是积极塑造其运作的体制环境以及它们与其他政策行动者相互作用的方式。最终，研究表明，相关机构不仅是欧盟边境制度的重要组成部分，而且具有塑造欧洲一体化进程的强大潜力。这个奖学金为我提供了一个宝贵的机会，通过文书工作、访谈和实地考察收集更多的数据，进一步丰富我的研究。这些将巩固我的研究的理论框架和实证结果。此外，实地研究部分将为我提供一个独特的平台，让我与各种利益相关者接触，扩大我的专业网络。这种与主题专家和同行的互动将有助于塑造我未来的学术追求，因为它将使我对该领域有更深入的了解，并有机会与该领域的主要研究人员合作。

This fellowship presents a significant opportunity to advance my academic career by building upon my PhD research, collecting additional data, producing and disseminating high-quality research outputs. As for the wider context for my PhD research, we see a continuation of threat perceptions and decision-making patterns that have dominated EU border controls since their inception in 1999. A string of terrorist attacks in the early 2000s brought border controls and internal security to the heart of EU political and bureaucratic practices. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, commonly known as Frontex, was accordingly set up in 2004 and became operational at a speed highly unusual for the Union bodies. Within the framework of the European integrated border management, other EU agencies (e.g. European Union Agency for Asylum) that were set up to respond to other policy needs have increasingly collaborated with Frontex and involved in border controls and surveillance. Against this backdrop, my PhD research interrogates how the empowerment of the concerned agencies has shaped the EU's approach to external borders. Its primary objective is to map the proliferation of EU agencies in border management, understand the underlying mechanisms, and identify challenges and opportunities in implementing EU integrated border management.By analysing the evolution of Frontex's joint operations, access to information, inter-agency cooperation, and international action, my research demonstrates that the initial delegation to Frontex created gaps in Member States' control over subsequent institutional fine-tuning. This has led to a self-reinforcing coordination approach to border control, diminishing Member States' policy autonomy, and strengthening the EU regulation on border management. Moreover, the empowerment of the concernedagencies has contributed to the institutionalisation of common administrative capacity at the EU level and an enhanced cooperation with third countries in migration controls. My thesis thus challenges intergovernmental accounts of EU external borders policy that prioritise Member States'sovereignty and downplay the role of EU bodies in transnational coordination and policy implementation.In addition to enriching our empirical knowledge of EU border management dynamics, my research also contributes to the advance of the principal-agent model by relaxing the model's restrictive assumption of information asymmetry. By integrating the model with insights from historical institutionalism, the research unveils the role of endogenous dynamics and institutional inertia in gradual institutional change. It highlights that, rather than being passive actors in the system, the concerned agencies have actively shaped the institutional context in which they operate and the ways in which they interact with other policy actors. Ultimately, the research suggests that the concerned agencies are not only an important part of the EU's border regime, but also have strong potential to shape the course of European integration.This fellowship provides a valuable opportunity for me to further enrich my research by collecting additional data through deskwork, interviews and fieldwork. These will solidify the theoretical framework and empirical findings of my research. Furthermore, the field research component will offer a unique platform for me to engage with a diverse range of stakeholders and expand my professional network. This interaction with subject matter experts and peers will be instrumental in shaping my future academic pursuits, as it will provide me with a deeper understanding of the field and opportunities to collaborate with leading researchers in the field.