Who rules the EU? Pragmatism and power in European integration theory

Abstract

Who rules the European Union? The answers of the main schools of European Union (EU) theory diverge: neofunctionalism highlights function, group pressure, entrepreneurial leadership; international relations realism privileges state interests; and neo‐institutionalisms favor the influence of incentive structures, organizational processes, or norms. These explanations reflect different concepts of power, producing irreconcilable disputes that expose the conflict among meta‐theoretical methods in the warranting of knowledge. In confronting this dilemma, Deweyan pragmatism provides a tool for investigating the way meta‐theoretical concepts ground ideas of power. Using this to examine the effects of philosophical assumptions in selected theories of the EU integration and policy‐making demonstrates the impact of meta‐concepts in shaping the analysis of power and calls for an alternative philosophical approach for studying who rules the EU.

Keywords:

• power
• European integration theory
• pragmatism
• realism
• empiricism

Acknowledgments

My thanks are extended to the generous and insightful comments of David Baker, Marjon Kamrani, Eric MacGilrvary, and two anonymous reviewers.