Definition
Supranationalism is the phenomenon of subsuming a number a states within a larger whole. The UN has some supranational aspects, though they are limited by the UN Charter, which is based on state sovereignty. On a regional level, the European Union is a somewhat more supranational entity than the UN. These cases contain a struggle between the contradictory forces of nationalism and supranationalism- between state sovereignty and the higher authority of supranational structures. Formal IGOs like the UN or EU are not the only way that supranationalism is developing. Even more far-reaching in many ways are the effects of information technologies that operate globally and regionally across state boundaries without formal political structures. Here, too, supranational influences compete for influence with the sovereign state.
The UK and EU. Reflections on the problem of explanation
The Dual Character of the EC's Supranationalism
JeanMonnet WP 695 J Weiler Demos Telos and the German Maastricht Decision 2