ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the genesis of the institutional structures in Europe. It begins with an analysis of European integration during the years following WWII, demonstrating how European regionalism was influenced by the change in structural factors such as the emergence of the Cold War and US geopolitical interests but also by the wider global normative infrastructure. These external forces were channelled by pre-existing institutions, deeply rooted ideas, historical legacies and the interests and policies of regional hegemons, so-called core states.
