The Sociology of European Integration

A PROBLEMATIC ABSENSE characterises sociology’s relationship with EU studies. Although potentially one of the disciplines that might bring a much needed ‘bottom up’ view of the origins and sources of European integration – along with social history, anthropology, social psychology, human geography – its contributions have been scattered and marginal. Dominant understandings of European integration remain wedded to the resolutely ‘top down ’ view of IR theory, law, diplomatic history. Sociological claims and argumentation were very much at the heart of the classic studies of Haas (1958) on elite socialisation to the European project, or Deutsch (1957) on increased interaction between nationals of the continent, as the two surest routes to regional integration. Yet today sociologists barely feature among the participants at mainstream EU conferences. You can usually count the number of practicing sociology faculty at EUSA on one hand – although we are delighted to note that Neil Fligstein has joined the executive committee! – and, on a good day, as Neil Fligstein could testify, you might need two to count the number of sociologists at the American Sociological Association conference who have any interest in European integration. While sociological soundin