theories of European Integration

Name

Course

University

Tutor

Date

Integration is a process where decision making occurs jointly in various domains . The domains are geographical , a functional scope and at an institutional capacity . The process of integration according to literature occurs in four major ways which include functional spill-over , side-payments and log rolling , actor socialization and feedback (Laursen , 2002 , pp1 . Fun spillover has to do with the fact that functions have a close relationship and often governments are forced to accommodate one another . Side payments and log-rolling refers to the bargains

and exchanges required to get the actors in the political scene to agree to a certain proposal . Actor socialization is a process of formation of interest groups by those participating in making policies these bring new perspectives and identities leading to attitude changes in the elite groups . Feedback involves the output to the public . If the public finds the output of the system to be good the likely thing is for support to the system to increase

Presently , the theories of European integration commonly employed are Liberal Intergovernmentalism and neo-functionalism . Neo-functionalist theory holds that the European Union will become a supranational state The state will inherit the major tasks that the member states carry out These involves a transfer of the sovereignty and power of the member state to the supranational state that has various institutions with authority such as the European Union commission , the ECJ , the EP and the ECB . Neo-functionalism has its roots in opposition to Functionalism which fronted the idea that politics and economics can be separated with integration being confined to those areas where politics were low . Haas opposed this view by arguing that the functionalist view is unrealistic because economic and technical integration cannot actually happen where political cooperation is absent . He argues that political motives provide a stimulus for cooperation and that sometimes political cooperation may result from technical cooperation (Haas , 1958 , pp16

Neo-functionalism is an integration process that involves political actors in different nation states shifting their loyalties and activities in a direction where larger institutions have jurisdiction over the already existing states (Haas , 1958 pp16 . According to neo-functionalism theory therefore supranational institutions are very central to the process of integration as well as acquisition of a European consciousness . Technical spillover demonstrated by cooperation of countries in the steel and coal policy (ECSC ) which led to the formation of the EEC is one of the features of the neo-functionalist theory . Geographical spillover , another feature of neo-functionalist theory led other countries like the United Kingdom to join the EEC /EU /EC in 1973 and also explains the enlargement of the EU from the eighties to date . This is related to the benefits that come with participation in a European alliance and the costs involved in being outside the alliance Some of the benefits include increase in trade as a result of creation of new firms , mobilization of new lobbies and removal or lowering of barriers (Cram , 1996

Neo-functionalism worked in the 1950s and 1960s politically , the Commission...