# Intergovernmentalism

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{{Short description|Concept in international relations}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{International relations theory sidebar|theories}}
In [international relations](/source/international_relations), '''intergovernmentalism''' treats states (and national governments in particular) as the primary actors in the integration process. Intergovernmentalist approaches claim to be able to explain both periods of radical change in the [European Union](/source/European_Union) because of converging governmental preferences and periods of inertia because of diverging national interests. 

Intergovernmentalism is distinguishable from [realism](/source/Realism_(international_relations)) and [neorealism](/source/Neorealism_(international_relations)) because it recognized the significance of [institutionalisation](/source/institutionalisation) in international politics and the impact of domestic politics upon governmental preferences.

==Regional integration==
===European integration===
{{see also|European integration|Community method}}
The best-known example of regional integration is the [European Union](/source/European_Union) (EU), an [economic](/source/Economic_and_Monetary_Union_of_the_European_Union) and political intergovernmental organisation of 27 [member states](/source/Member_state_of_the_European_Union), all in [Europe](/source/Europe).<ref>{{cite web|title=Basic information on the European Union|url=http://europa.eu/about-eu/basic-information/index_en.htm|work=European Union|publisher=europa.eu|access-date=4 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929023300/http://europa.eu/about-eu/basic-information/index_en.htm|archive-date=29 September 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |title=European |quote=5 b. spec. Designating a developing series of economic and political unions between certain countries of Europe from 1952 onwards, as '''''European Economic Community, European Community, European Union''''' |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/65099?redirectedFrom=European#eid |access-date=3 October 2011}}</ref> The EU operates through a system of [supranational](/source/Supranational_union) independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |title=European Union|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/196399/European-Union |access-date=1 July 2009 |quote=international organisation comprising 27 European countries and governing common economic, social, and security policies&nbsp;...}}</ref><ref name="CIA">{{cite web |title=European Union |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/european-union/ |access-date=11 October 2009 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122190105/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/european-union/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Anneli Albi|contribution=Implications of the European constitution|title=EU enlargement and the constitutions of Central and Eastern Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GXDxmx_1RmcC&pg=PA204|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=90-6704-285-4|page=204|quote=In practical terms, the EU is perhaps still best characterised as a 'supranational organisation' ''[sui generis](/source/sui_generis)''<nowiki>'</nowiki>: this term has proved relatively uncontroversial in respect of national constitutional sensitivities, being at the same time capable of embracing new facets of integration|access-date=25 July 2011}}</ref> [Institutions of the EU](/source/Institutions_of_the_European_Union) include the [European Commission](/source/European_Commission), the [Council of the European Union](/source/Council_of_the_European_Union), the [European Council](/source/European_Council), the [Court of Justice of the European Union](/source/Court_of_Justice_of_the_European_Union), the [European Central Bank](/source/European_Central_Bank), the [Court of Auditors](/source/Court_of_Auditors), and the [European Parliament](/source/European_Parliament). The European Parliament is elected every five years by [EU citizens](/source/citizenship_of_the_European_Union).

The EU has developed a [single market](/source/single_market) through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the [Schengen Area](/source/Schengen_Area) (which includes 25 EU and 4 non-EU European states) passport controls have been abolished.<ref name="Internal borders">{{cite web|title=Schengen area|publisher=Europa web portal|url=http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/borders/borders_schengen_en.htm|access-date=8 September 2010|archive-date=10 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810094618/http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/borders/borders_schengen_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> EU policies favour the [free movement of people, goods, services, and capital](/source/European_Single_Market) within its boundaries,<ref name="Europa Internal Market">{{cite web|title=The EU Single Market: Fewer barriers, more opportunities|publisher=Europa web portal|author=European Commission|url=http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/index_en.htm|access-date=27 September 2007|archive-date=1 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001122551/http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/index_en.htm|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web|title=Activities of the European Union: Internal Market|publisher=Europa web portal|url=http://europa.eu/pol/singl/index_en.htm|access-date=29 June 2007|archive-date=25 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625121825/http://europa.eu/pol/singl/index_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on [trade](/source/Common_commercial_policy_(EU)),<ref>{{cite web|title=Common commercial policy |url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/commercial_policy_en.htm |work=Europa Glossary |publisher=Europa web portal |access-date=19 December 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226160945/http://europa.eu/scadplus/glossary/commercial_policy_en.htm |archive-date=26 February 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [agriculture](/source/Common_Agricultural_Policy),<ref>{{cite web|publisher=The Council of the European Union|title=Agriculture and Fisheries Council|url=http://www.consilium.eu.int/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?id=414&lang=en&mode=g|access-date=6 September 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813045214/http://www.consilium.eu.int/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?id=414&lang=en&mode=g|archive-date=13 August 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [fisheries](/source/Common_Fisheries_Policy) and [regional development](/source/Regional_policy_of_the_European_Union).<ref>{{cite web|title=Overview of the European Union activities: Regional Policy|url=http://europa.eu/pol/reg/overview_en.htm|publisher=Europa web portal|access-date=6 September 2008|archive-date=10 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310124952/http://europa.eu/pol/reg/overview_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

A monetary union, the [eurozone](/source/eurozone), was established in 1999 and is composed of 17 member states. Through the [Common Foreign and Security Policy](/source/Common_Foreign_and_Security_Policy) the EU has developed a role in [external relations](/source/Foreign_relations_of_the_European_Union) and [defence](/source/Military_of_the_European_Union). Permanent [diplomatic missions](/source/List_of_diplomatic_missions_of_the_European_Union) have been established around the world. The EU is represented at the [United Nations](/source/European_Union_and_the_United_Nations), the [World Trade Organization](/source/World_Trade_Organization), the [G8](/source/European_Union_and_the_G8) and the [G-20](/source/G-20_major_economies).

Intergovernmentalism represents a way for limiting the conferral of powers upon supranational institutions, halting the emergence of common policies. In the current institutional system of the EU, the European Council and the Council play the role of the institutions which have the last word about decisions and policies of the EU, institutionalizing a de facto intergovernmental control over the EU as a whole, with the possibility to give more power to a small group of states. This extreme consequence can create the condition of supremacy of someone over someone else violating the principle of a "Union of Equals".<ref>Matteo Laruffa, "The European Integration and National Interests: from an intergovernmental model to a Constitutional Agreement"(Hungarian Academy of Social Sciences, Budapest, 3 July 2014)</ref> However, from a neo-functionalist viewpoint, some scholars argue that despite the appearance of intergovernmental dominance, the EU's supranational institutions have progressively expanded their influence through spillover effects, which gradually limit member states' control and enhance deeper integration.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Binici |first=Özer |date=2022 |title=EUROPEAN INTEGRATION THEORY IN TIMES OF CRISES: UPDATING 'THE OLD DEBATE' WITH A MORPHOGENETIC APPROACH |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1087713 |journal=Europolity - Continuity and Change in European Governance |language=English |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=5–38 |issn=2344-2247}}</ref>

===African integration===
The [African Union](/source/African_Union) (AU, or, in its other official languages, UA) is a [continental intergovernmental union](/source/Continental_union), similar but less integrated to the EU, consisting of 54&nbsp;[Africa](/source/Africa)n [states](/source/Sovereign_state). The AU was presented on 26 May 2001 in [Addis Ababa](/source/Addis_Ababa), [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia) and officially founded on 9 July 2002 in [Durban](/source/Durban), [South Africa](/source/South_Africa) to replace the [Organisation of African Unity](/source/Organisation_of_African_Unity) (OAU).<ref name="African Union 2002">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.africa-union.org/official_documents/Speeches_&_Statements/HE_Thabo_Mbiki/Launch%20of%20the%20African%20Union,%209%20July%202002.htm 
 |title=Launch of the African Union, 9 July 2002: Address by the chairperson of the AU, President Thabo Mbeki 
 |author=Thabo Mbeki 
 |author-link=Thabo Mbeki 
 |date=9 July 2002 
 |publisher=africa-union.org 
 |location=ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa 
 |access-date=8 February 2009 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503210549/http://www.africa-union.org/official_documents/Speeches_%26_Statements/HE_Thabo_Mbiki/Launch%20of%20the%20African%20Union%2C%209%20July%202002.htm 
 |archive-date=3 May 2009 
 |df=dmy-all 
}}</ref> The most important decisions of the AU are made by the [Assembly of the African Union](/source/Assembly_of_the_African_Union), a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the [African Union Commission](/source/African_Union_Commission), is based in [Addis Ababa](/source/Addis_Ababa), Ethiopia.

==See also==
* [Continental Union](/source/Continental_Union)
* [Continentalism](/source/Continentalism)
* [Functionalism (international relations)](/source/Functionalism_(international_relations))
* [Intergovernmental organization](/source/Intergovernmental_organization)
* [Liberal intergovernmentalism](/source/Liberal_intergovernmentalism)
* [Global citizenship](/source/Global_citizenship)
* [Neofunctionalism](/source/Neofunctionalism)
* [Union for the Mediterranean](/source/Union_for_the_Mediterranean)
* [Union of South American Nations](/source/Union_of_South_American_Nations)

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{International relations theory}}

Category:Political systems
Category:Theories
Category:World government
Category:International relations theory

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Intergovernmentalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmentalism) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmentalism?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.