Liberal intergovernmentalism

Liberal intergovernmentalism is a political theory developed by Andrew Moravcsik in 1993 to explain European integration. The theory is based upon and has further developed the intergovernmentalist theory and offers a more authentic perspective than its predecessor with its inclusion of both neo-liberal and realist aspects in its theory.[1]

Liberal intergovernmentalism was created to be a grand theory. The theory seeks to explain the broader transformation of regional integration. Liberal intergovernmentalists theorists argue that it is impossible to explain the concept of the European Union with a single factor and believe that different approaches or theories are needed to genuinely understand the complexity of the EU. Liberal intergovernmentalism views states as the main actors, and sees the EU as an international institution that can be studied by viewing states as the main actors in a situation of anarchy, where each state achieves their goal through negotiations and bargaining. Liberal intergovernmentalism especially studies the process of these negotiations and bargaining between EU's member states.[2]

Andrew Moravcsik in his book The Choice for Europe (1998) defines EU integration: "EU integration can best be understood as a series of rational choices made by national leaders. These choices responded to constraints and opportunities stemming from the economic interests relative power of powerful domestic constituents, the of states stemming from asymmetrical interdependence, and the role of institutions in bolstering the credibility of interstate commitments."[3]

Liberal intergovernmentalism has demonstrated its usefulness with its methods of organizing and constructing empirical studies. However, liberal intergovernmentalism has also been heavily criticized.[4] A general criticism of liberal intergovernmentalism is that it focuses on the theory of grand bargaining and major decisions, and that it has no way of explaining everyday decision-making procedures. Many critics point out that liberal intergovernmentalism exclusively focuses on the treaty-amending moments and member-states economic interests, while it overlooks the everyday policy agendas that represent the majority of EU policies.[5]. Furthermore, Moravcsik's scholarship never put forward a detailed liberal intergovernmentalist account of the powers of the European Court of Justice, although a (modified) liberal intergovernmentalist account of European legal integration is certainly possible [6].