Abstract

Theories presumed to be irrelevant in the day-to-day practice of politics may in fact possess significant practical implications. A case in point is the contribution made by neo-functionalist integration theory to the initial structuring of the European (EEC). While neo-functionalism was itself an outgrowth of the prevailing political wisdom of the 1950s, its major tenets formed the theoretical foundation for the Treaty of Rome which established the EEC. Thus, a reexamination of certain crucial aspects of this theory can be instructive in evaluating the Community's current efforts to achieve the political integration of western Europe. Specifically, it can be applied to a study of the structure and powers of the European parliament and the political alignments within the parliament. The discussion which follows proposes to do this through an examination of the two European political groups, Socialists and Communists, which comprise the broad left. The essay will move through several levels of analysis to reach two conclusions: (1) The transnational coalitions of the left in the European parliament-Socialists and Communists-are ideologically illogical for that forum. (2) The composition of these two transnational groups is dictated by forces outside of the European parliament because of the absence of countervailing forces within the parliament. In order to establish these points we begin with an examination of the Strasbourg parliament's role in the and the relationship between that role and neo-functionalist theory. We then move to a description of the Communist and Socialist groups in the parliament, demonstrating the fundamental political differences which exist within each of them. Last, we turn to the proposition that a realignment of the left would result in clearer articulation of their political concerns, and we hypothesize about the fact that this realignment is not occurring. Ernst Haas postulated that the object of political integration is the transfer of the loyalties, expectations, and political activities of political actors toward a new centre, whose institutions possess or demand jurisdiction over the pre-existing national state.' This goal was claimed by the founders of the European as their own. This investigation poses a broad question about whether the Community method is practically the most appropriate means to fulfill this objective, and it uses the particular difficulties encountered by the left within the parliament to demonstrate possible flaws in the Community's political structure.

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