The PHARE programme and the concept of spillover: neofunctionalism in the making

Abstract

This article argues that neofunctionalism has been wrongly underestimated and widely neglected in recent years. It suggests that neofunctionalism can be developed in a meaningful way to explain the emergence of PHARE as well as the decision-making structures and dynamics shaping the programme. A number of subsidiary neofunctionalist contributions have been largely ignored, and many of the recent partial theories either reconfirm neofunctionalist hypotheses or provide useful insights for their revision and development. This analysis aims to upgrade underestimated neofunctionalist assumptions, such as externalization, engrenage and task expansion, as well as to extend the current understanding of neofunctionalism by incorporating the mediating role of the Presidency and the phenomenon of epistemic communities into the theory. The findings of this study challenge those of Haggard and Moravcsik's analysis of the political economy of financial assistance to Eastern Europe. Apart from refuting the conclusions of their case study, this article challenges Moravcsik's approach more generally.