The European Union as a Consociation? A Methodological Assessment

Résumé :

Since the early 1980s, researchers have frequently referred to the consociative theory to analyse the European political system. However, this approach has not effectively contributed to the setting up of a coherent and clear interpretation grid of the European Union. The aim of this article is to incorporate those partial and limited interpretations into a more general process of conceptualisation. Once the specific version of the consociative theory and the concepts used have been precisely defined, it seems possible to propose a comprehensive interpretation of the European Union as a new form of consociation (which we call ‘inter-state consociation’), distinct both from classic federal and unitarian consociations.