In this article, the author proposes a synthetic approach to the analysis of institutional effects on EU policy making by combining a rationalist theory of action with a constructivist assumption on the social environment: Actors in European integration act strategically on the basis of individual and specific policy preferences but do so in a community environment that affects their strategies and the collective interaction outcome. This synthetic approach draws on the work of Erving Goffman and is based on the "sequencing" of rationalist and constructivist propositions. Furthermore, this approach will be most salient when the institutional rules in question are constitutive and legitimate and resonate with national values and norms. Following the design of controlled competition, the author argues that this sequencing better explains the EU's decision to expand to the East than either rationalist or constructivist propositions alone.
