Far from displaying a uniform pattern, European integration varies significantly across policy areas and individual countries. Why do some policies, such as the Single Market, attract non-EU member states, while some member states choose to opt out of specific EU policies? Why are some policies deeply integrated, whereas others, such as defence, remain intergovernmental? In answering these questions, this innovative text provides a state-of-the-art introduction to the study of European integration.
In this updated second edition, the authors introduce the most important theoretical approaches to European integration (intergovernmentalism, supranationalism, constructivism and postfunctionalism) and apply these to the trajectories of key EU policy areas – including the single market, monetary policy, foreign and security policy, and justice and home affairs. Arguing that no single theory offers a completely convincing explanation of integration and differentiation in the EU, the authors put forward a new analytical perspective for describing and explaining the institutions and policies of the EU and their development over time. Written by a team of prominent scholars in the field, this thought-provoking book provides a new synthesis of integration theory and an original way of thinking about what the EU is and how it works.