(p. 65) 5. Intergovernmentalism 

This chapter examines intergovernmentalist integration theory, with particular emphasis on the classical and liberal variants of intergovernmentalism. It begins with an overview of the basic premises and assumptions of intergovernmentalism, focusing on its realist underpinnings and the state-centrism that forms the core of the approach. It then considers the specific characteristics of the classical approach associated with the work of Stanley Hoffmann, along with some of the ways in which intergovernmentalist thinking has contributed to different conceptualizations of European integration. Also discussed are confederalism, the domestic politics approach, institutional analyses that emphasize the ‘locked-in’ nature of nation states within the integration process, and new intergovernmentalism. The chapter concludes with an introduction to liberal intergovernmentalism theory, as developed by Andrew Moravcsik, and some of the criticisms levelled against it.