THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MARKET: A frame analysis of the liberalization of the electricity market in the European Union

This article examines a specific case of policy-making in the European Union, the liberalization of electricity. This case illustrates the shortcomings of traditional realist and rational choice approaches to the study of political processes. Drawing on empirical research and utilizing analytical tools from the sociological cultural institutionalism and social movements studies, the article identifies and analyses cultural frames and the transformation of these in order to interpret the changes in the European electricity policy domain, changes that traditional realist and neofunctionalist approaches could not predict. The article brings out the importance of an elite bureaucratic movement that is able to frame and reframe issues within the borders of existing cultural master frames. It is also shown how transformation of frames affects the structure of interest groups at the European level.