Conference participation by Bekir İlhan (Political Science M.A. Student)

Political Science MA student Bekir İlhan attended the 75th Annual Midwest Political Science Association Conference, held on April 6-9, 2017 at the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois – USA and presented his paper entitled “Why Nations Integrate: A Structural Realist Analysis”.

Abstract

This paper attempts to explain determinants of cooperation and integration in international politics. Cooperation and integration are similar but not identical concepts. While cooperation does not require states to surrender some degree of their sovereignty, integration does. In the Realist paradigm, the notion of cooperation has been studied extensively, yet the notion of integration has remained under-theorized. The core argument of the paper is that distribution of power, as a structural factor, determines whether to cooperate or integrate. Specifically, this paper focuses on the economic and military aspects of the European integration process. Despite high-level of economic interdependence, European Union (EU) members have not been eager to further military integration due to structural imperatives.

Keywords: Cooperation, Integration, Distribution of Power, Security, European Integration