Supranationalism

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Supranationalism is a method of decision-making in international organizations, wherein power is held by independent appointed officials or by representatives elected by the legislatures or people of the member states. Member-state governments still have power, but they must share this power with other actors. Because decisions are made by majority votes, it is possible for a member-state to be forced by the other member-states to implement a decision. However, unlike a federal state, member states fully retain their sovereignty and participate voluntarily, being subject to the supranational government only so far as they decide to remain members.

An alternative method of decision-making in international organisations is intergovernmentalism.

No international organizations operate on the basis of supranationalism in the strict sense; however the European Union and the South American Community of Nations, often called supranational unions, as they incorporate both intergovernmental and supranational elements.

Some degree of supranationalism may exist in some International organizations. Supporters of a Federal World Government wish it to be extended. The United Nations holds a limited degree of supranational power insofar as governing important matters of global security through the binding decisions of the Security Council.

[edit] Supranationalism In The EU: The Debate

Much of the academic community (Including Weiler, Below) do not see the European Union as a supranational entity per se. Strictly, it is more akin to an intergovernmental organisation, as It does not regulate many aspects of the Member states, The states themselves vote for bills by Qualified Majority Voting and The European Council by and large controls the legislative agenda. It is more a matter of negotiation between the states than that of blanket policy.

Some however, see the EC as being a supranational body, adopting paradoxical arguments about the existance of a European Parliament (for democracy), and the democratic deficit in policy making (The comission setting the agenda). While it is true that the Court of Justice often dictates to Member States how to apply their law, both the court and the community institutions cannot exceed the powers conferred upon them by the treaty. In that sense, they are limited in their actions and therefore the EC is not a supranational body.

[edit] Categorising European Supranationalism

Joseph Weiler, in his seminal work "The Dual Character of Supranationalism" states that there are two main facets to European supranationalism, although these seem to be true of many supranational systems. These are:

Normative Supranationalism: The Relationships and heirarchy which exist between Community policies and legal measures on one hand and the competing policies and legal measures of the Member states on the other. (The Executive Dimension)
Decisional Supranationalism: The institutional framework and decision making by which such measures are initiated, debated, forumlated, promulgated and finally executed. (The Legislative-Judicial Dimension)

In many ways the split sees the seperation of powers confined to merely two branches.