本文指出，試圖了解歐洲區域整合發展的關鍵不在於客觀因素的衡量(本體論結構)，而在於各種不同主觀因素的呈現(認識論途徑)。本文從折衷主義與馬賽克主義的分析觀點出發，類型化九種試圖解答歐洲整合發展過程與方向的行動者途徑，而這些途徑均共同回應一個關鍵問題: 未來的歐洲該是一個怎樣的歐洲?其內涵為何? 本文再將此九種途徑簡化為九種結構機制，透過不同機制的組合與呈現，試圖了解目前歐洲在經濟領域的整合成就，有多大的可能會進展到政治上的發展(包括軍事安全的合作、國家主權的解放、大一統歐洲思想的出現)。本文結論認為，強調主觀因素的目的並不在於預測歐洲整合的未來走向，而是在於藉由掌握主觀因素的類型，瞭解個人的抉擇與他人的互動過程如何可以影響客觀結構的限制，即便後者往往被視為是社會科學研究中幫助研究者建立人文知識科學化的利器。 The author notes that the key to understanding the development of European integration does not lie in the evaluation of objective structure (i.e., the ontological structure) leading to a linear and predicting evolution from economic integration to ultimate political integration; but, such understanding has to be embedded in various subjective discourses (i.e., epistemological approaches). Using a mix of eclecticism and mosaic theory as a starting point, this paper creates a typology of nine possible European integration agent approaches aiming at answering one critical question: What does a future Europe look like? An attempt is made to reduce them to nine structural mechanisms for illustrating how current European economic achievements might/might not lead to future political development in terms of military and security cooperation, sovereignty transfers, and the emergence of a European identity. The primary conclusion is that the purpose of clarifying subjective factors, in the form of typology, is to understand how individual choices and interactions may undermine as well as strengthen objective structural constraints, even though acknowledging that those objective structural factors are preferentially included in the making of social science knowledge.
