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Why the EU Became 'Europe'. Towards a New History of European Union

Author

Listed:
  • Kiran Klaus Patel

    (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)

Abstract

The process of European integration is often framed in a teleological narrative, drawing a straight line from its early postwar steps to the contemporary European Union. Historical analysis, in contrast, shows a process made of many alternatives, twists and turns, trials and errors, and inherent tensions. When the European Community was founded in 1957, it was already a latecomer in a field densely populated with international organizations and cooperation institutions, heavily conditioned by the Cold War. It was only by confronting the economic and political challenges of the 1970s that the EC became the main forum of the integration of Western Europe. As the EC became more important, it also became more vulnerable. The essay argues for the need of paying a more specific attention to how European integration and, finally, the EU developed by responding to wider processes in global history (such as the Cold War, economic crises, and decolonisation); they were shaped by the dialectics between different international institutions and agreements, between national interests and internationalism.

Suggested Citation

  • Kiran Klaus Patel, 2020. "Why the EU Became 'Europe'. Towards a New History of European Union," Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science, Fondazione Luigi Einaudi, Torino (Italy), vol. 54(1), pages 199-216, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:fle:journl:v:54:y:2020:i:1:p:199-216
    DOI: 10.26331/1106
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Staiger, Uta, 2018. "Brexit and Beyond," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9781787352773 edited by Martill, Benjamin, December.
    2. Laurent Warlouzet, 2018. "Governing Europe in a Globalizing World Neoliberalism and its alternatives following the 1973 Oil crisis," Post-Print hal-02514104, HAL.
    3. James, Harold, 2012. "Making the European Monetary Union," Economics Books, Harvard University Press, number 9780674066830, Spring.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Europe; European Integration; European Union; Cold War; Internationalism; Colonialism.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F53 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-

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