International Relations and European Integration Theory: The Role of the European Parliament. JMWP No. 26.00, January 2000

[From the Introduction]. Winding through the maze of International Relations and European integration theories can be a lengthy and arduous challenge. The following overview, which is by no means exhaustive, intends to illustrate briefly the major theoretical assumptions relevant to European integration and set them, where possible, within the mainstream of International Relations theory, an explicit linkage which is too rarely made. In order to further highlight their relevance to this thesis, an attempt is also made to identify the role played or to be played by the European Parliament within the various original theoretical models, which are used as hermeneutic devises. Finally, variants of relevant concepts are tailored to allow for a theoretical conceptualization of political groups in the Europarliamentary environment