C/P/24. European Integration: realpolitik and culture

The essay briefly considers theories of European integration: federalist, functionalist, neo-functionalist and intergovernmentalist, concluding that the functionalist interpretation is a powerful instrument for understanding the „howŽ of the European integration. The second part of the essay considers the question of „whyŽ ‰ what prompted the European integration in the first place. The essay makes a strong argument to the effect that the constraints of the Cold War and the American pressure forced Europe into a „closer UnionŽ in the early 1950s. However, the fall of the Berlin Wall undermined the Cold War integration impetus, and Europe was briefly left without a purpose, struggling to come to terms with the questions: „what is Europe?Ž, „what is European identityŽ. The essay argues that the problem facing the European integration process today is that of „whyŽ rather than „howŽ to integrate.