ABSTRACT
European integration has always been a bit of a misfit as far as international theory is concerned. It never quite fitted within the dominant paradigm: it did not quite suit the ontological assumptions of realism or the methodological assumptions of behaviouralism. My concern in this chapter is to see how it now fits within contemporary international theory by examining the relationship between the current state of international theory and the literature on European integration. I write as an international theorist, not as a specialist in European integration, and my main claim will be that rationalist international theory is of restricted use in explaining European integration, especially given the current agenda facing the European Union, because it has a very restricted notion of politics.
