Hamilton's concise case for replacing the weak Articles of Confederation with a federal union of the American states helped inspire support for ratification of the US Constitution. Over two hundred years later his argument seems increasingly pertinent to the debate over European integration. The links between European economic and political objectives, both internal and external, are now extremely difficult to disentangle, and EU foreign/security policy coordination represents a major achievement for a regional economic organization. However, although a union of some unique type, federal or otherwise, may ultimately result from these efforts, I have instead framed this study in terms of cooperation among independent, sovereign states. For European states remain the ultimate locus of authority in developing the EU's institutional future, which has involved a variety of complex behaviors since the 1970s: bargaining, information-sharing, leadership, the establishment of formal organizations, the generation of norms, and delegation to technical specialists. The EU continues to strengthen its intergovernmental elements during key episodes of institutional reform, and EU states still must approve, tacitly or explicitly, any major expansion of EU competencies, such as the ESDP .