NORTH-AMERICAN INTEGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL-RELATIONS THEORY

Although North American integration has been the topic of heated publi c debate, it has not yet received adequate theoretical attention from the field of international relations. This article reviews the movemen t to codify North American integration, and explores the implications for integration and international relations theory. The first section reviews the intellectual history of integration theory as it developed in the European context. The second considers the North American expe rience of codifying integration, 1982-1994. The third part returns to integration theory and international relations, offering some amendmen ts and suggestions considering the North American experience. The arti cle argues that the dearest understanding of regional integration in t he 1990s can be achieved through an approach which stresses developmen ts in the global political economy as catalysts for change, and looks to national and transnational institutions and social forces to explai n variations in integration projects. Because other international rela tions theories such as neofunctionalism and interstate bargaining are unable to integrate these levels of analysis, they offer an incomplete view of present dynamics.