57 Regional Power Europe? The Place of the EU in Comparative Regional Integration Analysis Philomena Murray I. Introduction There is no shortage of analyses of the theoretical approaches to, and conceptual understandings of, integration. Attempts to understand regional integration often commence with the study of the European Union (EU). 1 Many examine attempts at non-EU regional integration, often in a contemporary comparative perspective. 2 Some draw on historical analysis and some on schemas or examination of the steps to be achieved in a path towards integration. 3 This chapter advocates that scholars consider the need for a more comparative approach to the study of regional integration (RI) across a level playing field, which neither privileges nor ignores the EU. It suggests that understanding EU integration must be a study of its parts, and not simply of the whole. It suggests that it is important to understand both the successes and failures of the different attempts at integration within Europe. The term integration is itself problematic 4 as it has been conflated to include process, theory, and objective. Just as integration is increasingly a contested term, so 1 Christiansen, T., ‘European Integration and Regional cooperation’ in John Baylis and Steve Smith (eds.), The Globalization of World Politics, 3rd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, 579-597. Haas, E., 1958, The Uniting of Europe, London: Stevens. Söderbaum, F., Stalgren, P. et al. 2005, ‘The EU as a global actor and the dynamics of interregionalism: a comparative analysis.’ European Integration, 27, 3, 365-380. Rosamond, B., 2006, ‘The Future of European Studies: Integration Theory, EU Studies and Social Sciences’ in M. Eilstrup-Sangiovanni (ed.), Debates on European Integration: A Reader, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 2 Angresano, J., 2004, ‘European Union integration lessons for ASEAN +3: the importance of contextual specificity’. Journal of Asian Economics, Vol. 18, 909-926. Asian Development Bank, 2006, Asian Economic Cooperation and Integration: Progress, Prospects, Challenges. Farrell, M., Hettne, B., Van Langenhove, L., (eds) (2005), Global Politics of Regionalism. Theory and Practice. (London: Pluto Press). Katzenstein, P. J. 2005, A World of Regions: Asia and Europe in the American Imperium, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. 3 Beeson, M., 2005, ‘Rethinking regionalism: Europe and East Asia in comparative historical perspective’, Journal of European Public Policy, 12, 6, 969-85. Bhalla, A. and P. Bhalla, eds., 1997, Regional blocs: Building blocks or Stumbling blocks? Basingstoke: Macmillan. Hurrell, A., 1995, ‘Explaining the resurgence of regionalism in world politics’, Review of International Studies, 21, 331-358. 4 M. Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, 2006, Chapter 1 in Debates on European Integration: A Reader, Houndmills, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Murray P. (forthcoming, 2008a) “Introduction: