Sociology

International trade

Epistemology

Philosophy

Political economy

Political science

European integration

Economics

Relation (database)

Intergovernmentalism

Brexit

European union

Computer science

Database

Journal of European Public Policy

This paper sets the scene for a JEPP special issue entitled 'Re-engaging Grand Theory: European Integration in the Twenty-first Century.' The special issue engages three theories – neofunctionalism, intergovernmentalism, and postfunctionalism – that have their intellectual roots squarely in the study of European integration. The purpose of this article is to describe the genesis of each school and outline what is distinctive about its approach in relation to four landmark events of the past decade: the Eurocrisis, the migration crisis, Brexit, and illiberalism.

Grand theories of European integration in the twenty-first century