ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the development of European integration theory, its roots, development, and the current state of the debate. It presents a critical overview of the key theoretical approaches to the study of European integration. Throughout the Second World War, there were many references to the peace-making potential of a European federal political structure. Neo-functionalism, in its early articulation, focused specifically upon the integration project in Europe. Some of the most ambitious studies have emerged as an attempt to explain the negotiation of the Single European Act, a key constitutional event in the history of European integration. For Hoffmann, national governments were more 'obstinate' than 'obsolete' in the process of European integration. The ambiguity implicit in the neo-functionalist 'logic of integration' might appear acceptable to national governments when taking decisions about tariffs, and almost sufficed for discussions on the issue of agriculture.
