1. Defining European Integration
Week 2
9 October 2007

2. How can we characterise the EU? What forces drive integration?
Session Outline
Hour 1
Tutor - Comments on theory and the utility of theory
How can we characterise the EU? What forces drive integration?
Group work, presentation of ideas and discussion
Coffee!

3. Session Outline Summary Hour 2
Does European integration involve a loss of national sovereignty? Can it be seen as a form of regionalism or globalisation?
Discussion
Summary

4. Theory and European Integration
Why theorize? What value does it bring to what we already know?
Provides a way of ordering the confusion of everyday events
It is practical and reflects what we actually do on a daily basis
It is useful and separates ‘academic’ work from ‘journalistic’ work

5. Theory and European Integration
What is theory?
Diez and Weiner (2004; 3)
Narrow – Causal argument, tested through falsification of a series of hypothesis
Broad (abstract) – Abstract reflection, but context specific. More reflective in terms of integration process.

6. Theory and European Integration
What is the purpose of theory?
Theories serve different purposes
Explain, predict, provide understanding, normative guidance
Why do we need integration theory?
Narrow (formal )sense
Broader (informal and normative) sense

7. How can we characterise the EU?
Explain the main features of each state form and what you think is its relevance to understanding the EU. What are their main strengths/limitations?
Group1 - Westphalian state
Group2 - Regulatory State
Group 3 - Post-modern State

8. What forces drive European integration?
What is ‘integration’?
Brainstorm – Your opinions on the main forces that drive integration (how can we think about integration?)

9. Integration and National Sovereignty
Does the emergence of European authority structures necessarily come at the expense of national ones?

10. Integration as Regionalism and Globalisation
What is the relationship between European integration, regionalism and globalisation?