Biography 2: David Mitrany and Ernst Haas: Theorizing a United Europe

Abstract

The relationship between the theory and practice of European integration is not always clear. Proponents of functionalist and neo-functionalist theories of international relations argued that the pragmatic tackling of technical and economic problems in the international sphere, rather than comprehensive plans for international federation, was the most fruitful method of achieving some measure of international integration and thereby tackling what David Mitrany called ‘the baffling division between the peoples of the world’. Many of these theorists drew inspiration from the work of the early post-Second World War proponents of European integration, and indeed these proponents themselves have now come to represent historical embodiments of the political theories of these theorists — the likes of Alberto Spinelli, Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman were all, claims the literature on European integration, either functionalists or neo-functionalists. But if the historical actors have come to embody functionalist theory, what do we know about the theorists as historical actors? It is noteworthy that the two leading theorists, David Mitrany and Ernst Haas, were themselves products of transnational circulation of experts.