A theory of regional integration

The theory is not applied on European integration which rejects the idea of neofunctionalism

Neofunctionalism

Neofunctionalism is a theory of regional integration, building on the work of Ernst B. Haas, an American political scientist and also Leon Lindberg, an American political scientist...

. The theory, initially proposed by Stanley Hoffmann

Stanley Hoffmann

Stanley Hoffmann is the Paul and Catherine Buttenweiser University Professor at Harvard University.-Biography:A French citizen since 1947, Hoffmann spent his childhood between Paris and Nice before studying at the Institut d'études politiques...

 suggests that national governments control the level and speed of European integration

European integration

European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...

. Any increase in power at supranational level, he argues, results from a direct decision by governments. He believed that integration, driven by national governments, was often based on the domestic political and economic issues of the day. The theory rejects the concept of the spill-over effect that neofunctionalism proposes. He also rejects the idea that supranational organisations are on an equal level (in terms of political influence) as national governments.

Intergovernmentalism (a definition)

An approach to integration that treats states, and national governments in particular, as the primary actors in the integration process. Various intergovernmentalist approaches have been developed in the literature and these claim to be able to explain both periods of radical change in the European Union (because of the converging governmental preferences) and periods of inertia (due to the diverging national interests). Intergovernmentalism is distinguishable from realism and neorealism because of its recognition of both the significance of institutionalisation in international politics and the impact of processes of domestic politics upon governmental preferences.

See also

• Liberal intergovernmentalism
  Liberal intergovernmentalism
  Liberal intergovernmentalism is a political theory developed by Andrew Moravcsik in 1993 to explain European integration.-Background:The theory is a reaction against intergovernmentalism theory, which argues that...
  
  
• Federation
  Federation
  A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
  
  
• Continental Union
  Continental union
  A continental union is an inter-governmental, supra-national, or a federation of member states located in the same continent, or close to it. Continental unions are a relatively new type of political entity in the history of human government. Throughout most of human history, political...
  
  
• Continentalism
  Continentalism
  Continentalism refers to the agreements or policies that favor the regionalization and/or cooperation between nations within a continent. The term is used more often in the European and North American contexts, but the concept has been applied to other continents including Australia, Africa and...
  
  
• Union of South American Nations
• European Union
  European Union
  The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
  
  
• African Union
  African Union
  The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
  
  
• Union for the Mediterranean
  Union for the Mediterranean
  The Union for the Mediterranean is a multilateral partnership that encompasses 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 member states of the European Union and 16 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans...
  
  
• Mundialization
  Mundialization
  The word mundialisation, is the English version of the French word "mondialisation", which today refers in French to what is referred to in English as "globalisation"...