Themes in European Integration History Lecture 3: The Milward-controversy in European integration history

1. Themes in European Integration HistoryLecture 3: The Milward-controversy in European integration history Lecture course 3 November – 15 December 2006 Juhana Aunesluoma University Lecturer in Political History University of Helsinki course pages www.valt.helsinki.fi/blogs/jauneslu/euhistory.htm

2. Today’s lecture an outline of Milward’s work on the origins of the EC the argument, historical cases and evidence contextualisation of the work contemproary debate, historical scholarship, theoretical developments in EU studies criticism and debate the reception of his work and its subsequent influence

3. The European Rescue of the Nation-State (1992, 2000) an analysis of the forces which brought the EC together also a study of the evolution of the postwar European nation-state continuation to his previous work on European reconstruction (1984) could also be seen as an explanation based on historical analysis of the future relationship between nation-state and the EU the collection of articles in The Frontier of National Sovereignty (1993) explores other historical cases subsequent books on British trade and integration policy

4. The context the emergence of archive-based historical studies of European integration since 1970s diplomatic history of European interdependence and negotiations the legacy of the Walter Lipgens-tradition of idealist-federalist integration history the poverty of big social science predictive theory and integration? the EC’s 1992 agenda SEA 1986, Maastricht 1991 etc. neoliberal influences on economic and social policies in western countries R. Reagan in USA and M. Thatcher in UK the British debate over Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s the rise of the Eurosceptics

5. Milward’s argument integration as a rescue of the postwar nation-state an important part of strategies of national development, welfare and security selective and limited surrenders of national sovereignty strenghtening of the nation-state and the EC have been mutually compatible and have reinforced each other primacy of economic and societal factors political decisionmaking conditioned by them a wide concept of security economic, social, military the poverty of neo-functionalism hagiographies of the founding fathers diplomatic history of integration

6. Underlying assumptions approach: state-centric, realist, rational choice the beneficial link of state intervention and economic growth foreign policy an extension of domestic policy: Primat der Innenpolitik foreign policy issues important, but usually secondary importance of democratic processes in defining national preferences symmetry of the participating states: rescue of nation-state all round

7. The post-war nation state the starting point: discredited European states in 1940 economic depression, totalitarianism, ineffective in providing security for their citizens the reconstruction of the nation-states on the basis and in service of a new national consensus welfare, growth, security nationalisation of concepts (my term) national economy, national measures of growth, national champions democracy + modernisation + technology + enlightenment = postwar national projects =>the high water mark of the nation in European history?

8. Coal and the Belgian nation Milward’s case study on the birth of the ECSC the myth of 9 May 1950 ideas of pooling resources in this way had been floating around for years the need to manage Western Germany’s economic rise, French industrialisation, German sovereignty managing the decline of Belgian coal industry supranational solutions crucial for this aim ”integration provided needed, and unembarrassing, support for combining the management of industrial decline with high welfare and high employment” (p. 118)

9. Origins of the EEC the myth of relance of integration after the failure of the EDC in 1954 development of intra-European trade massive growth and diversification of trade relations in Europe Germany’s place in the European trade system access to German markets: investment goods German access to protected European markets (Italy) national strategies of development vs the requirements of international exchange the interventionist nation-state the reliance on foreign trade, access to markets neo-mercantilism and the regulated form of European capitalism form of European highly selective protectionism

10. Agricultural protection domestic pressures: selective, highly concentrated in political terms agricultural earnings and income considered crucial in France Dutch export interests access to German markets the need for a supranational solution: ”Would national taxpayers and voters have continued so long to pay the costs of income support for agriculture … had the decision been set in a purely national context? Surely not.” (p. 317) ”…the CAP ”has lumbered on like some clumsy prehistoric mastodon, incapable of evolution … an awesome reminder of the strength which integration could add to the rescue of the nation-state.” (p. 317)

11. UK and Europe misreading and misperceptions of what was happening in Europe in the 1950s interests in the US, Commonwealth markets Britain’s own unsuccessful national strategy to ease the descent from great power status to a middle ranking power betting the wrong horse the choice to remain outside the European rescue of the nation-state weakened Britain did not benefit from integration as the six original member states did Britain locked in within its strategic choices until 1961 alternatives not feasible

12. Criticisms and debate the nature and aims of the postwar nation-state? individual nations different, how far can we generalise from Milward’s account symmetry of actors? the Franco-German axis the politics of economic advance? how do national preferences take form and lead into action? Milward’s theory? are the cases studied too different testable hypothesis? outside influences and patronage? US role in Europe, the threat of communism, the need for Western Germany to achieve sovereignty and unity the link between economic growth and political action what if economic growth facilitated integration by widening the range of options for decision-makers and not vice versa?

13. Conclusion Milward’s account a radical departure from previous EU studies the single most influential work on EU history revisionist and highly controversial has forced other scholars to respond and modify their theses has widened the agenda of EU history

14. Further reading Alan S. Milward, The European Rescue of the Nation-State (1992, revised edition 2000) Alan S. Milward et al, The Frontier of National Sovereignty. History and theory 1945–1992 (1993) Wolfram Kaiser, ”From state to society? The Historiography of European Integration”, in Michelle Cini & Angela K. Bourne (eds.), Palgrave Advances in European Union Studies (2006), 190-208 Reviews of Milward’s work: Perry Anderson, London Review of Books, 4 January 1996 Andrew Moravcsik, Journal of Modern History, Vol 67, No 1 (1995), 126-128 William Wallace, Times Literary Supplement, 30 April 1993 B. W. E. Alford, The Economic Journal, Vol 103, No 421 (1993), 1575-1576 Pierre-Henri Laurent, American Historical Review, October 1993, 1197-1199.