scholarly journals The Unfinished History of European Integration

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim Meurs ◽  
Robin Bruin ◽  
Liesbeth Grift ◽  
Carla Hoetink ◽  
Karin Leeuwen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Theoretical Knowledge ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Master's Thesis ◽  
History Of ◽  
Joint Approach ◽  
Crisis Call ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Eu

When the Treaty of Lisbon went into effect in December 2009, the event seemed to mark the beginning of a longer phase of institutional consolidation for the EU. Since 2010, however, the EU has faced multiple crises, which have rocked its foundations and deeply challenged the narrative of 'the end of the history of integration'. The military crisis in eastern Ukraine and the refugee crisis call for a joint approach, but in practice reveal the difficulty of maintaining even the appearance of European solidarity and political unanimity. The financial and socio-economic crisis in southern Europe and Brexit present the EU with the latest set of challenges. If seventy years of European integration have taught us anything, it is that fundamental crises as well as moments of rapid institutional change form integral parts of its history. The Unfinished History of European Integration presents the reader with historical and theoretical knowledge on which well-founded judgements can be based. This textbook on European integration history has been written as a student textbook for a bachelor's or master's programme in European integration history, as a manual for the analysis of EU sources and, finally, as an information resource for a bachelor's or master's thesis.

European Integration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann P. Arnason
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes ◽  
The Eu

Different understandings of European integration, its background and present problems are represented in this book, but they share an emphasis on historical processes, geopolitical dynamics and regional diversity. The introduction surveys approaches to the question of European continuities and discontinuities, before going on to an overview of chapters. The following three contributions deal with long-term perspectives, including the question of Europe as a civilisational entity, the civilisational crisis of the twentieth century, marked by wars and totalitarian regimes, and a comparison of the European Union with the Habsburg Empire, with particular emphasis on similar crisis symptoms. The next three chapters discuss various aspects and contexts of the present crisis. Reflections on the Brexit controversy throw light on a longer history of intra-Union rivalry, enduring disputes and changing external conditions. An analysis of efforts to strengthen the EU’s legal and constitutional framework, and of resistances to them, highlights the unfinished agenda of integration. A closer look at the much-disputed Islamic presence in Europe suggests that an interdependent radicalization of Islamism and the European extreme right is a major factor in current political developments. Three concluding chapters adopt specific regional perspectives. Central and Eastern European countries, especially Poland, are following a path that leads to conflicts with dominant orientations of the EU, but this also raises questions about Europe’s future. The record of Scandinavian policies in relation to Europe exemplifies more general problems faced by peripheral regions. Finally, growing dissonances and divergences within the EU may strengthen the case for Eurasian perspectives.

Scandinavia Within and Without Europe

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-200
Author(s):  
Bo Stråth
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
European Integration ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Napoleonic Wars ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Integration Approach ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Eu

This chapter outlines changing relationships between Scandinavia and Europe. The Scandinavian ‘isolationist’ approach to Europe after the Napoleonic wars shifted to more active integrationist policies in the 1920s, with the arrival of left governments and the acceptance of the League of Nations; a new isolationist trend (‘neutrality’) set in after 1933. Against the backdrop of this long-term pattern, the focus is on shifting Scandinavian attitudes to the project of European integration and on attempts to be both within and outside Europe. Before and after the Danish entry into the EU in 1973, tensions between different approaches and between the countries concerned have been evident. The Cold War was a major factor, and its end reinforced the pro-integration approach. More recently, problems with the euro and the refugee crisis have provoked more ambiguous responses, but less so in Finland than in the Scandinavian countries.

14. Europeanization, Euroscepticism, and Politicization in Party Politics

2020 ◽  
pp. 331-353
Author(s):  
Paul Taggart
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Member States ◽  
History Of ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Eu

The development of European integration has meant that member states have experienced Europeanization and as a consequence the EU has become a more politicized issue in domestic politics. Politicization has come over time and as a consequence of the decline of a permissive consensus and takes some very different forms. The chapter considers the place of the domestic politicization of European integration in theories of European integration and then reviews different periods of the history of European integration, highlighting the growing phenomena of Europeanization and politicization. The chapter then looks at Euroscepticism and its meaning and different forms and identifying which parties can currently be identified as Eurosceptic and what issues Euroscepticism blends with in different member states. The chapter then offers a typology for understanding the different ways in which the politicization of European integration plays out in the party systems of member states.

The Netherlands and European Integration

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Segers
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Polished Surface ◽  
Constitutional Treaty ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Hague ◽  
Fortress Europe ◽  
The Veil ◽  
The Eu

Why did the Netherlands take part in the process of European integration from the beginning? How did that happen, and what consequences did it have? At present, questions like these linger immediately beneath the polished surface of the official narratives of economic rationalism and idealistic instrumentalism that dominate narratives about the Netherlands’ role as founding member of European integration. The clear no-vote in the 2005 referendum on the constitutional treaty for the EU and the outbreak of the Euro-crisis in 2010 have pulled the veil away from these underlying issues. As one of the founders of today’s European Union, the Netherlands has been a key player in the process of European integration. The Dutch like to think of themselves as shapers of European integration—matching their image in historiography—but the history of their participation in the European project often tells a very different story. Yes, as founders of the EU, the Dutch actively co-shaped European integration, but often in ways not unveiled in the official and rather consistent post facto narratives. In the past decades, governments in The Hague often steered an erratic course in European integration, trying to reconcile high hopes for instrumental free trade arrangements and transatlantic community with a deep-seated anxiety over the potential emergence of a small, continental, and politicized “fortress Europe.” This is a story that is both less known to the public and less prominent in the existing historiography.

The United States and the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Dominguez ◽  
Joshua Weissman LaFrance
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Cold War ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Marshall Plan ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Transatlantic Relationship ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Eu

The history of the European Union (EU) is closely associated with the development of the United States. As the process of European integration has produced institutions and gained a collective international presence, the United States has been a close observer, partner, and often critic of the policies and actions of the EU and its member states. A steady progression of events delineates this path: the Marshall Plan, origins of European integration, the Cold War, the post–Cold War, 9/11 and its effects on the international system, the Great Recession, and the deterioration of global democracy. All throughout, the EU and the United States have both cooperated and collided with one another, in line with the combination of three main factors: (a) the evolution of the EU as an independent, international actor; (b) American strategies for engagement with Europe and then with the EU; and (c) the adaptive capacity and cohesion of the overall transatlantic relationship. The EU–U.S. relationship is significant not only for the influential role of the EU in world affairs but also because, as opposed to China or Russia, the transatlantic area hosts one of the most solid relationships around the world. Crises surely have been, and will be, a frequent aspect of the intense interdependences on both sides of the Atlantic; however, the level of contestation and conflict is relatively low, particularly as compared with other areas that smoothly allow the flow of goods, services, people, and ideas. Taken altogether, then, the transatlantic relationship possesses a strong foundation: it is integral, resilient, and enduring over a history of diplomatic disagreements and conflicts. The primary question remains just how this steady stream and confluence of shared challenges ultimately will fare in face of evolving crises and systemic disruptors. In any case, the answer is determined by the enduring nature, and foreign policy choices, of the primary actors on each side of the Atlantic.

scholarly journals EU Refugee Crisis: A Stumbling Block to the Process of European Integration?

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dionysios Stivas
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu

Currently, the European Union (EU) is dealing with an unprecedented refugee crisis which has been blamed for bringing the process of the EU integration to an impasse. By applying theories of European (dis)integration, this paper assesses the extent to which the current refugee crisis constitutes an impediment to the future of the European Union. This paper’s analysis is constructed around two hypotheses: (1) the refugee crisis triggered Brexit and the failure of the EU’s relocation scheme, symptoms of the EU’s disintegration; (2) the refugee crisis has a dual potential: to simultaneously promote the deeper integration and the disintegration of the EU. To test these hypotheses, this paper examines if and how the refugee crisis is related to Brexit and whether the rebellious reaction of certain EU member states to the implementation of the EU relocation scheme is a sign of reversal in the process of EU integration.

scholarly journals Niemcy i Francja w Unii Europejskiej po brexicie

2018 ◽  
pp. 39-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Józef M. Fiszer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Accurate Diagnosis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Eu

There is no doubt that Brexit is an unprecedented event in the history of European integration and the European Union (EU). It will certainly be a turning point not only in the history of the EU but also in Germany and France. It will affect their place and role in the new international order that is currently being shaped. Today, however, it is very difficult to present an accurate diagnosis, and even more difficult to predict the future of the EU, Europe and the whole world after Brexit. Currently, the opinions of researchers and experts on this subject are divided. Many fear that Brexit will be the beginning of the end of the EU and that it will lead to so-called diversified integration and then to its disintegration. Others believe that Brexit, nolens volens, may accelerate the EU’s modernisation process. This will require the adoption of a new revision treaty. This treaty will be developed under the dictation of Germany and France, which are the most influential countries in the EU.The purpose of this article is to answer a few questions, particularly what role  Germany and France can and will play in the EU after Brexit. Will these countries  again become the driving force in the process of European integration and the EU’s modernisation, or will they remain passive and contribute to the break-up of the EU? Moreover, the author intends to show the opportunities and threats for the EU  without the United Kingdom, which counterbalanced the influence of Germany and France in Europe.

The “Refugee Crisis,” Immigration Attitudes, and Euroscepticism

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 883-912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Stockemer ◽  
Arne Niemann ◽  
Doris Unger ◽  
Johanna Speyer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Attitudes Toward Immigrants ◽  
European Refugee Crisis ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Eu

Between 2015 and 2017, the European Union (EU) was confronted with a major crisis in its history, the so-called “European refugee crisis.” Since the multifaceted crisis has provoked many different responses, it is also likely to have influenced individuals’ assessments of immigrants and European integration. Using data from three waves of the European Social Survey (ESS) — the wave before the crisis in 2012, the wave at the beginning of the crisis in 2014, and the wave right after the (perceived) height of the crisis in 2016 — we test the degree to which the European refugee crisis increased Europeans’ anti-immigrant sentiment and Euroscepticism, as well as the influence of Europeans’ anti-immigrant attitudes on their level of Euroscepticism. As suggested by prior research, our results indicate that there is indeed a consistent and solid relationship between more critical attitudes toward immigrants and increased Euroscepticism. Surprisingly, however, we find that the crisis increased neither anti-immigrant sentiments nor critical attitudes toward the EU and did not reinforce the link between rejection of immigrants and rejection of the EU. These findings imply that even under a strong external shock, fundamental political attitudes remain constant.

scholarly journals The EC/EU between the Art of Forgetting and the Palimpsest of Empire

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Pasture
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Postcolonial Identity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Colonial Legacies ◽  
The Eu

The history of European integration is usually presented as both a peace project and an economic endeavour. What is largely ignored is that it also had a colonial dimension. This article first recalls this largely forgotten history, asking why and how it could be erased from memory. It then explores ways in which the EU and its predecessors constituted a new postcolonial identity and how colonial legacies somehow reappear in policies and representations.

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