Wider Europe, Greater Europe? David Mitrany on European Security Order

Abstract

How should the structure of European security be reorganized following the conflict in Ukraine? Some respond that the European Union should not bend to Russia's acts of aggression. Others blame the allegedly exclusionary and expansive nature of the Euro-Atlantic organizations for the conflict. This paper embeds these competing narratives in the functional approach of David Mitrany, specifically in his two distinctive forms of regional integration, one exclusive and one inclusive. At the same time, however, the paper cautions against drawing simplified conclusions based on the parallels between Mitrany's ideal types of regional integration and contemporary arguments about the place of Russia in European security governance. Indeed, a more inclusive approach to Russia can potentially be beneficial for European security order, but there are more problems with this vision than simply the short-sightedness of western institutions. Unfortunately, Mitrany's functional approach does not offer immediate solutions to these problems.