ABSTRACT
In seeking to develop a disruption-oriented approach to critical political economy (CPE) this chapter draws upon a range of theoretical positions and debates. The earliest contributions developing a CPE account of European integration can be traced back to some of the early Marxist debates at the beginning of the 20th century. The Eurozone crisis, and especially the Greek chapter of that crisis, led many who were previously sympathetic towards the project of European integration to begin to question its socio-economic implications. In addition to the shared assumption that accounts of European integration need to 'bring capitalism back in', a variety of different positions can be observed within CPE approaches on European integration. Neo-Gramscian perspectives highlighted the process through which capitalist hegemony is constructed through European integration. Open Marxist accounts point to the inherently capitalist nature of the capitalist state. Structural power accounts consider the international, geopolitical and structural relations of contemporary global capitalism as it affects European integration.
