Theory of european integration

National preference formation is the first step in interpreting the outcome of an international negotiation. Andrew Moravcsik describes national preferences as, “an ordered and weighted set of values placed on future substantive outcomes that might result from international political interaction.” (Moravcsik 24). The most significant question dealing with national preferences is determining the reasons why governments act and decide the way that they do in an international cooperative setting. What are the sources of underlying national preferences? Moravcsik’s hypothesis divides the tendencies of national preference into two camps: geopolitical ideologies and political economic interests. Even though these two theories are contrasting by nature, the resulting hypothetical outcomes of both are achieved by observing five identical observations concerning the pattern and process of state behavior.
The first hypothesis Moravcsik provides emphasizes the role of geopolitica...