International relations is an activity in which persons from more than one nation interact individually and in groups. Much of the scholarship of international relations arose between the world wars, as academics sought ways to prevent these tragedies. Several schools of thought emerged on how to prevent war. Three such schools that are still important today are functionalism, neo-functionalism and integration theory. This research analyzes these schools of thought and attempts to draw commonalities between them. Specifically, the relationship between functionalism and integration theory and neo-functionalism and integration theory will be explored, and the conditions likely to aid or hinder an integrated global community will be discussed.
In its most general form, the term "integration" refers to a process in which autonomous social units (e.g. tribes, organizations, nations) change in such a way to erode their autonomy and transform the units into an aggregate whole. In terms of international relations, the concept refers to the changing relations among sovereign nations resulting in some form of new central authority. Historically, international integration has been achieved through force in which one nation conquers another. Thus, in order to distinguish integration theory from the violent establishment of empires, international integration must be achieved by deliberate and voluntary decisions of the actors involved or even as unintended consequences of such voluntary decisions, but not by force.
"Regional integration" refers to the process of international integration on a geographically confined scale below that of global integration. Regional integration has been a common social phenomena since the end of World War II throughout Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and the Pacific Rim.
Regional integration is as old as recorded history, although the process is more frequent today. Historically, integration came...