lOMoARcPSD|19695644
History of European Integration – HIST-O403
History of European Integration (Université Libre de Bruxelles)
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, lOMoARcPSD|19695644
History of European Integration – HIST-O403
1. Historiography
1.1. What’s the historiography ? Why ? How ? When ? What ?
An apologetic and eschatological history
European Integration is studied as a linearity (from there to here) ; from the ashes to
now
The common thread : the quest for peace (Does the European Integration bring Peace ?
Or does the Peace bring the European Integration ?) ; European Integration means
peace but by thinking in that way we forgot a lot of mistakes (Algerian War...)
A long history, a European novel
Binary history with the good guys (Jean Monnet, Spaak, Delors…) and the bad guys (Charles
de Gaulle, Thatcher…)
But history changed a bit (CDG became a good guy)
This kind of binary history is present in narratives of European Integration
Adventures, creation of narratives
The creation of a myth
From the ashes of the WWI to the EEC and now
During the Schuman Declaration
… Success Crisis (overlooked) Relaunch …
1
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, lOMoARcPSD|19695644
The failure of the EDC (1953-54) was the end of a federalist dream ; And there is no
link between the failure of the EDC and the introduction of the Common Market, it is
two different histories
The failures tell us much more about the European Integration process than the
successes, and relaunches
A lot of books talk about Europe by the prism of the Institutions, the negotiations, the
European elites… but do not talk about the Europeans
Historians behind other social sciences
Causes : ignorance among historians or deep disinterest, lack of competitiveness with
other social sciences (deficit of concepts…), too EU targeted, excessively
linear/finalist, linguistic diversity, notions and events variability (for example, the term
“euroscepticism” would be anachronic if it is used to talk about CDG), official history
(The Institutions create their own history of the European Integration)
A field cultivated by many disciplines
Which Europe or European Institutions ?
There are some blind spots : decolonization, social history…
Historiography
Classical view : “We are impregnated with the belief that supranationalism is a
desirable ideological goal and recount the history of European Integration in terms of
the progress Europe has made towards achieving this goal” (Mark Gilbert)
European Integration = gradual process in which national sovereignties would decline
for the benefit of European or supranational institutions
Finding heroes, “Founding Fathers” (Monnet, Schuman, Spaak, Adenauer…)
2
messages.downloaded_by
History of European Integration – HIST-O403
History of European Integration (Université Libre de Bruxelles)
messages.pdf_cover_qr_code_label
messages.studocu_not_sponsored_or_endorsed_by_college
messages.downloaded_by
, lOMoARcPSD|19695644
History of European Integration – HIST-O403
1. Historiography
1.1. What’s the historiography ? Why ? How ? When ? What ?
An apologetic and eschatological history
European Integration is studied as a linearity (from there to here) ; from the ashes to
now
The common thread : the quest for peace (Does the European Integration bring Peace ?
Or does the Peace bring the European Integration ?) ; European Integration means
peace but by thinking in that way we forgot a lot of mistakes (Algerian War...)
A long history, a European novel
Binary history with the good guys (Jean Monnet, Spaak, Delors…) and the bad guys (Charles
de Gaulle, Thatcher…)
But history changed a bit (CDG became a good guy)
This kind of binary history is present in narratives of European Integration
Adventures, creation of narratives
The creation of a myth
From the ashes of the WWI to the EEC and now
During the Schuman Declaration
… Success Crisis (overlooked) Relaunch …
1
messages.downloaded_by
, lOMoARcPSD|19695644
The failure of the EDC (1953-54) was the end of a federalist dream ; And there is no
link between the failure of the EDC and the introduction of the Common Market, it is
two different histories
The failures tell us much more about the European Integration process than the
successes, and relaunches
A lot of books talk about Europe by the prism of the Institutions, the negotiations, the
European elites… but do not talk about the Europeans
Historians behind other social sciences
Causes : ignorance among historians or deep disinterest, lack of competitiveness with
other social sciences (deficit of concepts…), too EU targeted, excessively
linear/finalist, linguistic diversity, notions and events variability (for example, the term
“euroscepticism” would be anachronic if it is used to talk about CDG), official history
(The Institutions create their own history of the European Integration)
A field cultivated by many disciplines
Which Europe or European Institutions ?
There are some blind spots : decolonization, social history…
Historiography
Classical view : “We are impregnated with the belief that supranationalism is a
desirable ideological goal and recount the history of European Integration in terms of
the progress Europe has made towards achieving this goal” (Mark Gilbert)
European Integration = gradual process in which national sovereignties would decline
for the benefit of European or supranational institutions
Finding heroes, “Founding Fathers” (Monnet, Schuman, Spaak, Adenauer…)
2
messages.downloaded_by
