本文以自由政府間主義為理論架構,探討英國批准里斯本條約的歷程。傳統上,相較於歐盟的其他會員國,英國對歐洲統合通常抱持謹慎疑慮的態度。歐盟經過逾半個世紀的發展,在會員國自願的基礎上,已成為區域整合的重要模式之一。里斯本條約的簽訂為歐盟帶來重大變革,象徵二十一世紀初歐洲統合的重要里程碑。本文旨在探討英國通過里斯本條約的過程及其所面臨的挑戰。另一方面,自由政府間主義經過幾十年的發展,成為歐洲統合理論的一項重要理論學派。自由政府間主義著重於歐盟重大條約的協商、簽署與批准過程,為分析英國批准里斯本條約的歷程提供了適切的理論途徑。因此,本文的雙重目的在於分析英國批准里斯本條約的實證個案,並探求自由政府間主義套用英國個案所呈現的理論妥適性。
This paper examines the process of the UK's ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon using a liberal intergovernmentalist approach. Traditionally, in contrast to other member states of the European Union, the UK has often been hesitant to pursue European integration. And yet, over the past half century, the European Union has become a significant model of voluntary regional integration. The ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, which brought important changes to the European Union, marked a significant milestone for European integration in the early twenty-first century. This paper aims to explore the process and challenges of the UK's ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon by employing a liberal intergovernmentalist analysis. Such an approach has been developed over several decades and become a major theoretical approach to the study of European integration. Liberal intergovernmentalism, which draws special attention to the processes of negotiating, signing, and ratifying the EU's major treaties, provides a suitable theoretical approach to the analysis of the UK's passage of the Treaty of Lisbon. This paper is, therefore, designed with the dual purpose of examining the empirical case study of the UK's passage of the Treaty of Lisbon, and of examining the theoretical validity of liberal intergovernmentalism against empirical studies.