The construction of the European Community (EC) has widely been understood as the product of either economic self-interest or dissatisfaction with the nation-state system. In Europe United, Sebastian Rosato challenges these conventional explanations, arguing that the Community came into being because of balance of power concerns. France and the Federal Republic of Germany the two key protagonists in the story established the EC at the height of the cold war as a means to balance against the Soviet Union and one another.

More generally, Rosato argues that international institutions,...

The construction of the European Community (EC) has widely been understood as the product of either economic self-interest or dissatisfaction with the nation-state system. In Europe United, Sebastian Rosato challenges these conventional explanations, arguing that the Community came into being because of balance of power concerns. France and the Federal Republic of Germany the two key protagonists in the story established the EC at the height of the cold war as a means to balance against the Soviet Union and one another.

More generally, Rosato argues that international...