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Ivo Banaco

Applying the Integral Model to European Union (EU) Construction

Since 1957, the EU institutional structures (LR) have been unfolding at a strong pace (e.g. from small economic agreements between six countries in specific markets like steel and coal to a larger and complex European single market and European currency union - – currently there is 25 member countries in EU).

With this institutional set, how was the development of the correlated interior quadrants? Since the 50’s is there any wider feeling of being European citizen (LL)? In whatever scale we use, do we notice any development from regional/national values to a wider identity that embraces not only each of the specific member states but Europe at large? What about the development of a European political union (that many observers continued to believe that it is the single most import step for the success of the whole project), any chance to happen? Why? What about me…do I feel European? Is this space called Europe really “mine” or do I continue to believe that what I am really considering to be “mine” is this particular region where I was born (ethnocentric stage of development).

To put it simply: EU had through out five decades a great LR institutional development that allowed, for example, an astonished thing: several European national borders to share a single currency - the euro area – one of the most profound economic integration between several well established national borders. But if we are to make this institutional framework sustainable I believe we have to observe a correlated development in the interior quadrants.

What can integral theory add? I think almost everything as I see the shocking LR gross and subtle reductionism approaches to these issues. We can study the correlated development in LL and UL quadrants of the great structural/institutional development of the LR quadrant; that is, the impacts of LR structural development stages on the European subjective and intersubjective space of awareness – an ex-post analysis of five decades of events. We can use a dynamic AQAL approach that could allow us to identify the main issues at stake regarding the European project evolution, avoiding the risks and dangers that subtle and gross reductionism can have when it neglects important truths regarding European reality (or European kosmic habits) – a great political tool; Also with AQAL framework, it could be particularly important to identify (in every quadrant, with every zone injunctions and data) potential pathologies that can arise, as the project unfolds and evolves to a more and more complex system.

In this initial study, we could start by presenting the 4 quadrants, and how useful they could be to a better analysis of what is at stake when we want to study the European Union development. Particularly, the major setbacks of the European project could be better evaluated and understood using the AQAL reconstructive inquiry in order to find out where the problems came from, how they could be addressed and how the quadrants correlates with each other.

Let’s look to a quick example: After the relatively success of the Economic Monetary Union (EMU) that established the replacement of the 12 European Union countries currencies to a single currency – the euro – the next major step was to establish a single European constitution law. The constitution project was submitted to national referendums and in France and in the Netherlands it didn’t pass. A strong NO in those countries to this ambitious supra-national plan was enough for the project be stopped – a major step back. What we witnessed during the referendum campaigns was the revival of the national protectionism and ethnocentric values that tend to return more easily with economic downturns for example. Political leadership struggled to understand what had happened. They saw what integral theory meant by LL or cultural development. A failure to address that issue, focusing too much on the objective side of reality (subtle reductionism) is resulting in a current failure in this wonderful European federalism project.

In the graphics presented above, we have two theoretical scenarios: the first is the “perfect scenario” where the It/Its evolution of the European Union project (from nationalism/protectionism institutional systems to Federalism) is followed by a correlated evolution of the “I” and “We” unfolding (the 1 to 4 shows levels of development from whatever scale we use). The second is a more realistic scenario, for this case, where the objective LR unfolds faster than the interior domains. So we have:

Scenario 2

(Notice that this is mainly an all quadrants, all levels and all lines approach. We are using particularly two lines – values and moral lines. Types can also be at play, but in this initial study I put types and states apart).

We can ask: What could be the impacts from this institutional/objective socio-economical system in the interior domains? Can the objective side of reality promote interior growth, wider identifications, European cultural unity, worldcentric values? 

We must also emphasize that European Union was a vision of a small elite group that wanted to achieve peace in European after the devastating effects resulting from two world wars (a UL growth well above the center of gravity in LL at the time – 50 years ago). Jean Monet and his colleagues intuitively understood that a way to do it was by reaching economic agreements with a significant number of European countries (LR commitments) that would intensify the interdependences between the countries and eventually place the conditions for a better cultural/mutual understanding. 

Finally, how do we have data for this? For example the constitution referendum results could well serve as one of the proxies to cultural development. If we ask European people: Why you responded NO to the European constitution, we will probability see nationalistic values as the main reason. Be that as it may, one thing is certain. We can’t reduce any of the quadrants to the others, we have to be aware of the major Kosmos zones at play and have injunctions and data from that practices so that we have a more complete puzzle/map in the table. 


Ivo Banaco