Abstract:The paper reviews some theories of social science which could contribute to the development of a concept of European governance going beyond traditional notions, such as federal states' or ‘international organisation’. The theoretical argument is based on the culturalist version of neo‐institutionalism, which stresses the role of ideas in the functioning and transformation of a political order. It is claimed that both globalisation and functional differentiation transform existing nation‐states and shape the emerging European polity. European governance is characterised as poly‐centric and non‐hierarchical. Finally, different approaches to the legitimation of such a polity are discussed. The paper comes to the conclusion that the emergence of a European political order is part of a process which could require a rethinking of basic social scientific concepts.
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