At the Heart of Integration

8/15/2019 At the Heart of Integration

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GERMANY: EUROPE AS ‘MAGIC FORMULA’

Historiography:

national history partial state integrated with the West

Integration as “Westernization”

Focus on Konrad Adenauer’s European policy = integration over unification

German industry and Parliament supported larger Western European market

Supported French idea European Defence Community (failed in F; NATO assubstitute)


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GERMANY: EUROPE AS ‘MAGIC FORMULA’

European policy influenced by its domestic constitutional character – Federal

Prioritized coordination within the Community and further integration during Germunification

Younger generation historians’ ‘revisionist interpretation of German European

Post-war Germany’s “self-image”


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FRANCE: FMS FACING DECOLONIZATION

Introspective (France-centrism) and inadvertently Gaullist historiography

agreement among French historians that De Gaulle’s policy was mainly

motivated by a combination of foreign policy goals: keeping Britain oEEC, maintaining French hegemony over WE, and controlling Germany

US leverage over French European Policy (F dependent on ERP funding)

Linkages of decolonization to European integration


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FRANCE: FMS FACING DECOLONIZATION

More recent scholarship contextualize French policy-making more internationa

Fragmented French government, departments with different priorities

European backdoor = EEC as a means to carry out plans and competition poliwould not have majority support domestically


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ITALY: THE SMALLEST OF THE LARGER MS

Historiography focused on matters of national identity in a fragmented society

Federalist scholars = European integration as part of the Federalism Movemen

De Gasperi et. al.

Western European ideals

Economic (modernization, liberalization) and political motives (‘formal equality

‘equal influence’ in relation to F and G)


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ITALY: THE SMALLEST OF THE LARGER MS

Italian Socialists:

European union vs Atlantic Community

Wanted united Europe to overcome East – West confrontation by medbetween the 2SP

Italian Left:

strongly opposed integration until the 1960s/70s

helped deepen integration in the western European system while retaicritical distance to the US


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BRITAIN: LATE COMER TO CORE

EUROPE INTEGRATION

British contemporary history = period since WWII

State-centric historical research on Britain’s relationship with Europe

Britain’s self-exclusion from ECSC/EEC

British diplomacy in light of French veto to its applications

Rational choice perspective: national strategy to transition from the status of aimperial power to medium-sized European power


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BRITAIN: LATE COMER TO CORE

EUROPE INTEGRATION

Exaggerated British leadership claims

-not in line with the realities of EC politics

-neglected the study of EC impacts on Britain

Government developed a positive agenda for integration when Thatcher became PM

Cultural isolation, othering the EU partners, Brussels as a scapegoat for domestic failur

Eurosceptism vs proactive role within the EU


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DENMARK: RELUCTANT EUROPEAN

Torn between links with Britain, Nordic cooperation, and core Europe integratio(Nielson, 1966)

Denmark as just another Scandanavian ‘reluctant European’ (Toivo Miljan, 197

Danish European policy = domestic political strategy for building a nawelfare state (Sorensen, 2001)

PMs Jens Otto Krag and Bo Lidegaard fought Euroscepticism

Accession as an economic decision without political implications


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DENMARK: RELUCTANT EUROPEAN

Comparison of Danish and Norwegian domestic debate

Yes camp = strategic, pragmatic

vs

No camp = ideological, dominated by intellectuals and political groupleft of the Labour Party

result: Sceptics among the social democrats were hesitant support the no camp

Recent research: multi-level politics, legal politics


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TOWARDS COMPARING NATIONAL

EUROPEAN POLICY


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1. HISTORICAL RESEARCH DONE IN THE

NATIONAL CONTEXT

- exception of Britain and France


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GERMANY

European policy connected to the country’s

division and the Cold War

Fall of the Wall (Nov. 1989)

= focus on unification and nationalization

Neglected the history of Europeanintegration and of German national policy


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FMS:

- domestic consensus on the desirability of membershipin the EEC

- Historiography focus less on the WHYs but on HOWnational positions on institutional and policy issuesinfluenced interstate negotiations


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LCC:

- EU integration was controversial except inSpain and Portugal

- Strong public debate in Britain and Denmark

- Historiography focused on reconstructing

domestic debates FOR and AGAINST: membership

decisions leading to applications

accession negotiations


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2. HISTORIOGRAPHY SHOWS HOW MSG

FORMULATED AND PROJECTED PARTICULAR

INTERESTS NEGOTIATIONS

- two sets of interests:

Economic

DFS Policy


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ECONOMIC

- Common market = increase exports

France: to strengthen state industries

Britain: to avoid exclusion

-Single Market = incentives!


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ECONOMIC

Common Market

EEC (1975)

Vs

Single Market

EU (1992)


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DFS POLICY

- States in continental west:

Membership = guarantee of territorial integrity

Weighted voting in the Council = influence despite size

- BENELUX


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DFS POLICY

- Britain (a declining global power) : to safeguard its role atthe center of three circles

- JFK (1961) pressured Britain to enter EEC

US

Common-

wealth

Community


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3. EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS STRENGTHENED

NATIONAL STRATEGIES

-Two sets of strategies:

Integration with supranational dimension

vs

Policy of national sovereignty with intergovernmental economic cooperat


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THE EXOGENOUS FACTOR

- EF = policies of the 2 SP

- OEEC has intergovernmentalinstitutional framework

Marshall Plan, ERP Funds

- US: support for supranationalism andformation of EEC

- USSR: neutrality is inconsistent withEEC membership


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CONCLUSION


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STATE CENTRISM

- Apparent weakness in explaining one national policy

Britain and Denmark: Role of party politics, interest groups, and public o


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NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

THEN: How government decisions are influenced by domestic policies

NOW: How national and EU decision-making are influenced by transnational (domestic actors)

THEN: State decision in policy making Diplomatic historian assume that decision is determined by a small policy-making circle or de

domestic politics

NOW: Role of ideas and ideology in policy-making Policy-making influences by guiding integration ideas at multi-levels e.g. Consultative Assemb

Council of Europe, ECSC Assembly and High Authority, the EP, and the Commission


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RECOMMENDATION

Repercussions of Community identity - “Esprit de corps” or “Community-feelingnational European policy-making

Bilateral relationships for national European policy With particular focused on unequal partners such as IB, AG, and FR

Comparative Studies

Documents

At the Heart of Integration