Neofunctionalism: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Thc words “functionalism ” and “functional ” bid fair to rival “power ” or “power politics ” as two of the most frequently used but confusing terms in the social scientist’s lexicon. The term “neofunctionalism ” only compounds this confusion since i t is an approach which has characteristics that, far from being near to functionalism, are in fact antithetical to it. The term “functional ” and its derivatives are widely used in sociology, anthropology, psycho!ogy, environmental studies and fine arts as well as political science and international relations. It is with their use in political science and inter-national rclations that this article is concerned since, while neofunction-alism is being questioned as an explanation and prediction by its founding fathers’, not suficient attention has been focused on the fundamental dif-ferences between neofunctionalism and the functionalist notions from which it was originally derived. Indeed, the questioning of neofunctionalism has concentrated on some of those very aspects where it deviated from the basic tenets of functionalism. What, then, are the tenets of functionalism in inter-