Europeanization and EU-ization

The concept of Europeanization in Political Science literature has been used to explain two separate processes; Europeanization and EU-ization. Conflating Europeanization and EU-ization can be both incorrect and misleading. By defining each process and identifying the separate mechanisms this paper seeks to encourage the use of EU-ization to study the process of European integration in the context of the European Union. The concept of Europeanization is then the longitudinal processes occurring throughout Europe.;EU-ization is approached by identifying the mechanisms that affect states entering the European Union. The states selected are Serbia and Croatia. Europeanization is approached by identifying the mechanisms that affect European states both within and separate from the European Union. The states selected here are Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Ukraine. This paper concludes that Europeanization and EU-ization are distinct processes, and further research can benefit from approaches that study the separate dynamics.