The Integration Cycle: Theorising European Integration of Local Government

The chapter starts with an outline of the macro-trajectories that have led to the evolution of a European supranational polity by drawing from a range of integration theories. It also presents insights from the literature on Europeanisation and multilevel governance. The synthesis of different approaches allows us to bring macro- and micro-dynamics together to build an analytical framework for the study of the integration of local government into the EU’s system of governance. The chapter then introduces the idea of an integration cycle in which the local government responds to the top-down impact of integration and subsequently seeks to participate and shape the future outcomes of integration in a proactive way.