The European union as a consociation? A methodological assessment

Since the early 1980s, researchers have frequently referred to the consociative theory to analyse the European political system. However, this approach has not effectively contributed to the setting up of a coherent and clear interpretation grid of the European Union. The aim of this article is to incorporate those partial and limited interpretations into a more general process of conceptualisation. Once the specific version of the consociative theory and the concepts used have been precisely defined, it seems possible to propose a comprehensive interpretation of the European Union as a new form of consociation (which we call 'inter-state consociation'), distinct both from classic federal and unitarian consociations.