European Institutions, Michel Clapié

This textbook is intended for students studying for a DEUG or Bachelor of Laws degree, or a degree in Economics and Social Administration (AES), and for students at Institutes of Political Studies, as well as for candidates preparing for civil service examinations. The second half of the 20th century saw the emergence of various international organizations bringing together a variable number of European states: WEU, OEEC (OECD), Council of Europe, ECSC, EAEC, and EEC, European Union. Some of these even cover a wider geographical area, such as NATO, which extends to North America, or the OSCE, which extends to Asia. However, the institutions they have established refer to very different theoretical models, presented in the introduction: most remain based on the classical principle of intergovernmental cooperation; some, on the contrary, have developed according to the mode of supranational integration. Without ever abandoning a critical approach or refraining from a geopolitical perspective, this book presents a typology of these organizations and traces the genealogy of European construction (first part), before analyzing the European Union in more depth (second part).