A Review on Integration Theories

The further development of Neofunctionalism until the early 1970s
I Modified neofunctionalism as response to critique and factual occurrences Contextualisation of Schmitter’s article:
 Central differences between Integration
Key actors
Actors’ driving forces
Supranational institutions
neofunctionalism and
as a (continuing, incremental) process
pluralistic national elites
rational choices, various interests
develop their own dynamic
intergovernmentalism
as a series of (isolated) events
nation states as “black boxes” ideology/nationalism,
security interests
play no independent role/ not in focus
 Central aspects of (intergovernmentalist) criticism of (early) neofunctionalism
o Automatism and determinism of integration process
o Underestimation of continuing impact of sovereignty consciousness and national-
ism
o Failure to take the broader international context into account
 Stagnation of European integration caused by the Empty Chair crisis (1965/66) and no major treaty revisions until the Single European Act (1986/87)
=> Crisis not predictable by earlier versions of neofunctionalism
Modified theory by Schmitter:
 Schmitter’s aim: creation of an integration theory valid also in other processes of regional integration
 Integration process as model of decisional cycles
 Differentiation of actors’ strategies: integration thus an open-ended process
(1) spillover, (2) spill-around, (3) buildup, (4) retrench, (5) muddle-about, (6) spill-back,
(7) encapsulation
 Encapsulation (= responding to crisis only with marginal modifications) as the most likely strategy
II Neofunctionalism in its scientific context Schmitter’s own quality criteria for an integration theory:
 Comprehensive and parsimonious model of political consequences of integration
 Operationability and intersubjective reliability
 Ability to predict conditions under which certain actors’ strategies are chosen
Sources:
Faber, Anne (2005): Europäische Integration und...