Variables

The joy and ANGUISH of pretheorizing – Haas is supposedly the scholar of neofunctionalism, yet even he admits that we cannot agree on the variables (neither dependent NOR independent) we use to explain, describe, and predict events. “Theories are lamentably unspecific and inconsistent as to the dependent variable to which they address themselves. Nor are they clear with respect to the key independent variables.” Let’s take this one step further and point out that even if we could agree on the variables, we cannot control for them because we cannot control human nature. We cannot view the state as a constant. A state is not some object that we can pick up and toss around. States do not make decisions. People make decisions. It’s like one of my favorite quotes: “If guns kill people, pencils misspell words.” States do not think for themselves. People think. People act. So when theories declare XXX to be the main actor, it is really irrelevant. People are actors. I give neofunctionalism some credit in that regard for addressing interests and needs of states and non-state actors. Back to states… While a state may have the same form of government as another, leaders and citizens differ in every state. Neofunctionalism discusses regional integration and it applies well to Western Europe, but serves little use in other regions of the world. So I ask, what good is a theory (which, respectfully admits this flaw itself) if it cannot be applied in a broader sense?