An American/European divide in European integration studies: bridging the gap with international political economy

Abstract

There appears to be a divide in the literature between American and European approaches to European integration studies. This article discusses the differences between the two types of approaches, and what problems occur from having this divide. It is argued that IPE offers a venue for dialogue between those who focus exclusively on the EU (labelled here as "European approaches') and those who see the EU case to be part of more general phenomena and who seek to produce general theories ("American approaches'). The article suggests that IPE offers a useful body of literature to narrow the gap between " American' and "European' studies of European integration.