THE STRUCTURE AND POLITICS OF THE CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: THE EUROPEAN UNION IN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

International institutions have becomes the central focus of research in the field of international relations. The paper starts by examining the European Union (EU) looking at its historical evolution, objectives and organs. It adopts the neo-functionalism theory of regional integration to explain the rationale behind the formation of the EU. It also looks at the role of the EU in international politics by looking at some standards which measures the level of impacts that an international institution has in the contemporary international system. It concludes that for the EU to continue to show its relevance it must give more aids to countries of the developing world.