Schimmelfenning and rittberger, 2006, namely intergovernmentalism and supranationalism. The theory emerged during the 1960s as a critique of. Institutionalism, intergovernmentalism and european integration. It constitutes a counterbalance to the supranational tendency in the european integration theory such as neofunctionalism. Intergovernmentalism assumes national governments to be the key actors in regional integration. The bestknown example of regional integration is the european union eu. The contribution of the neofunctionalist and intergovernmentalist theories to the evolution of the european integration process pdf. Intergovernmentalism emphasises the role of the nation state in integration, and. This is the most basic form of economic cooperation.
Moravcsik formulated the theory to explain the european integration process based on the combined liberal theory of national preference formation. The theory, suggests that governments control the level and speed of the state integration. Then i will look at some of the most important critiques of liberal intergovernmentalism, especially public. Functionalism is often considered to represent the theoretical impulse that preceded the drive to european integration.
Neofunctionalism is a theory of regional integration which downplays globalisation and reintroduces territory into its governance. The special issue engages three theories neofunctionalism, intergovernmentalism, and postfunctionalism that have their intellectual roots squarely in the study of european integration. Lisbon and the economic crisis, among others, seem to spiral the eu squarely back. Then follows an analysis of federalism theory and neofunctionalism. Intergovernmentalism theories of european integration. The contribution of the neofunctionalist and intergovernmentalist. Neofunctionalism is a theory of regional integration, building on the work of ernst b. In this chapter, we aim to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the application of european integration theory to the domain of european foreign policy. As a theoretical approach to the study of european integration, intergovernmentalism was developed in the mid. Regional integration theory oxford research encyclopedia of. Liberal intergovernmentalism is a political theory developed by andrew moravcsik in 1993 to explain european integration. Alternatively, another statecentric perspective on regional integration, intergovernmentalism, provides a greater insight into these issues. The theory is based upon and has further developed the intergovernmentalist theory and offers a more authentic perspective than its predecessor with its inclusion of both neoliberal and realist aspects in its theory.
Intergovernmentalist approaches claim to be able to explain both periods of radical change in the european union because of converging governmental preferences and periods of inertia because of diverging national interests. What theories of regional integration best explain the european experience to date, and why has regional integration proceeded at a slower pace in asia, the pacific basin, africa, latin america and north america the different theories of regional integration have widely different views on regional integration in europeand offer widely different explanations for it. The first section traces the origin and formation of the au, examines the rationale for regional integration, its membership, objectives, organs, as well as the successes and weaknesses of the au. Sadcs protocol on trade and south africas big fingerprint 4 moravcsik, 1998. One argument of this article is to understand federalism theory as a regional integration. The critical legal studies perspective on the role of the courts in the european union, edited by t. The application of regional integration theories should deliver meaningful scientific insights about this particular process. But it would be a mistake to think that european integration intergovernmentalists were ever as hardnosed as proper realists, with their nearexclusive focus on the relative position of states in the international balance of power. Haas, an american political scientist and also leon lindberg, an american political scientist. There are four main types of regional economic integration.
The opposite method of decisionmaking in political communities is supranationalism. Neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism tended to view integration as losing momentum and neither was overly alarmed by the problems of legitimacy facing the eu mattli and stone sweet 2012 mattli, w. Neofunctionalism was a popular theory of european integration in the 1950s and. But it would be a mistake to think that european integration intergovernmentalists were ever as hardnosed as proper realists, with their nearexclusive focus on the relative. Practically, many regional organizations attempt to. The suitability of a constructivist approach at least in the case of south america. Intergovernmentalism is a term in political science with two meanings. Intergovernmentalism and the development of east asian regionalism. In the 1990s it was the dominant theory of european integration. Several contributions in this special issue and the one published in the journal of common market studies 2018 question liberal intergovernmentalisms relevance in a politicized european union by comparison to postfunctionalism. Jan 07, 2015 the classical intergovernmentalism has been developed recently to the more complex theoretical concept, liberal intergovernmentalism of moravcsik. Whereas intergovernmentalism sees interstate negotiations as the main transmission belt, neofunctionalism focuses on spillover processes and. Theories of european integration seminar, 2nd term 2018.
This chapter focuses on liberal intergovernmentalism li, which has acquired the status of a baseline theory in the study of regional integration. One stream of intergovernmentalism views regional integration as a response to shifts in the balance of power. In this interpretation, the main aim of governments is to protect their geopolitical interests such as national security, defence and national sovereignty west, 2004. The mercosur experience and theories of regional integration. Andrew moravcsiks liberal intergovernmentalism li was first presented in the early 1990s and later elaborated and applied in a string of publications of which the monumental book the choice for europe 1998 contains the most detailed exposition and test of the theory. Theory of economic integration uniwersytet warszawski. Grand theories of integration and the challenges of comparative. Later in the 1990s andrew moravcsik developed liberal intergovernmentalism to explain the process of integration in europe, suggesting the.
Intergovernmentalism supports the proposition that regional integration is controlled by the national governments through interstate bargains, especially among the most powerful member states. Intergovernmentalism reflecting these developments, a new intergovernmentalist school of integration theory emerged, beginning with stanley hoffmanns 1966 claim that the nationstate, far from being obsolete, had proven obstinate. Theories and approaches introduction the devastation and havoc brought by world war ii forced politicians, thinkers and humanists to think seriously about the means that should be adopted in the relations among the nations that could significantly reduce the. The purpose of this article is to describe the genesis of. Haas presented neofunctionalism nf as the first theory of european integration in the late 1950s in his analysis of the european coal and. European integration theories and african integration. If neofunctionalism represents ir liberalism in the european integration debate, liberal intergovernmentalism certainly constitutes its realist counterpart. This finding suggests that scholars of asean integration should be more open to the experience of european integration and consider how to take advantage of the insights. The chapter argues that li has achieved this dominant status due to its theoretical soundness, empirical power, and utility as a foundation for synthesis with. Applying this theory to the harmonization process of economic immigration policy will help to understand the reasons why this policy represents a challenge to the integration. European integration theories and african integration realities federalism, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism in african integration stefan michel june 2012 student number s14426 mscthesis faculty of social sciences political science international relations address van zeggelenlaan 250 2524az sgravenhage supervisors.
The use of federalism, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism for explaining african regional cooperation are tested. Theories of european integration and their contribution to. Also, liberal intergovernmentalism argues that it is the member states who decide upon modes of decision making and the role that the eu institutions will play, if at all. Growth and regional integration views on the role that regional integration should play in south asia. Challenges and prospects of regional integration in africa. Regional integration operates in between the two, in the sense that it promotes ideas of active and voluntary cooperation among nationstates within a specified geographic area towards removing or. Moravcsiks liberal intergovernmentalism has eminently contributed to the debate of regional integration and provides a very plausible theoretical. The key debates in regional integration theory have taken place between variants of intergovernmentalist and neofunctionalist integration theory.
Next i want to outline what i consider the most important contribution to integration theory in the last 1015 years, namely andrew moravcsiks liberal intergovernmentalism. European integration theories and african integration realities. Regional integration theory oxford research encyclopedia. European integration theories and african integration realities core. Since two general regional integration theories, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism are based upon assumed generally applicable aspects, like the. The first refers to a theory of regional integration originally proposed by stanley. Key questions are why and under which conditions states decide to transfer political authority to regional organizations.
In political science, intergovernmentalism treats states, and national governments in particular. Jean monnets approach to european integration, which aimed at integrating individual sectors in hopes of achieving spillover effects to further the process of integration, is said to have followed the. Regional integration theories and the case of the asean. This way intergovernmentalism does not conflict with federalism. Xxiv customs union 6 8 customs union accession 0 6 economic integration agreement 80 economic integration agreement accession 3 free trade agreement 10 158 free trade agreement accession 0 1.
Late professor michael cowen recommended me sadc as an interesting. In political science, intergovernmentalism treats states, and national governments in particular, as the primary actors in the integration process. Regional economic integration has enabled countries to focus on issues that are relevant to their stage of development as well as encourage trade between neighbors. The classical intergovernmentalism has been developed recently to the more complex theoretical concept, liberal intergovernmentalism of moravcsik. It starts out discussing the concept of regional integration setting up a stagiest model for categorizing it.
Governments use regional integration to maximize their national security and economic interests in the. Since two general regional integration theories, neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism are based upon assumed generally applicable. The theory is based upon and has further developed the intergovernmentalist theory and offers a more authentic perspective than its predecessor with its inclusion of both neoliberal and realist aspects in its theory liberal intergovernmentalism was created to be a grand. Grand theories of european integration in the twentyfirst. Liberal intergovernmentalism by andrew moravcsik in his 1998 book the choice for europe. Some figures on regional trade agreements notified to the gattwto and in force dr katarzyna sledziewska enabling clause gats art. Intergovernmentalism brought integration studies closer to mainstream. Pdf theoretical discussion on regional integration. Like intergovernmentalism, liberal intergovernmentalism emphasises national governments as the key. Neofunctionalism and international regimes thomas gehring it is common to juxtapose intergovernmentalism and neofunctionalism as the two most important, and seemingly mutually exclusive, frameworks to interpret the phenomenon of european integration and its institutional dimension, the european community. International integration theories intergovernmentalism and supranationalism intergovernmentalism intergovernmentalism is also a theory on international state integration which rejects the idea of neofunctionalism.
Institutionalism, intergovernmentalism and european. Building on realist premisses, writers such as stanley hoffmann highlighted the convergence of national interests and the will of states to cooperate as central to the analysis of regional integration. However, this will not exclude valuable theoretical concepts and ideas of other schools of thought axline. Regional integration theory seeks to explain the establishment and development of regional international organizations. The theory is not applied on european integration which rejects the idea of neofunctionalism. Theory and practice of regional integration archive of european. The differences in views nevertheless enrich the evolving thinking on the subject as well as the political dynamics by bringing different perspectives from researchers, private sector. In recent years, there is much literature concerned with the study of regional organizations which usually discuss the deepening regional integration and the impact this will have on member states. Jean monnets approach to european integration, which aimed at integrating individual sectors in hopes of achieving spillover effects to further the process of integration, is said to have followed the neofunctional schools tack.
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