A global perspective on European cooperation and integration since 1918

Abstract

The solution for the devastating wars that ravaged Europe in the twentieth century: this is the most widespread narrative about European integration starting in the aftermath of World War II. This chapter will provide a complementary narrative, a narrative that situates the impetus for European cooperation and integration in a changing global context from World War I onward and one that as a result brings in the colonial dimension of

European cooperation projects and narratives.

After World War I, the position of Europe in the world changed profoundly and an intense sense of crisis swept

across Europe. This was not just the result of the war in Europe as is generally emphasised, it was also the result of developments elsewhere. Concerns over the rise of the USA, the creation of the Soviet Union, the growing economic and political importance of the British Dominions and Latin America as well as the rise of Japan were coupled with fear about large scale unrests in the colonial world. Particularly these latter fears were linked to the future of European colonial empires and concomitantly the economic and geopolitical future and civilisational standing of Europe in the world. When studied from this perspectives it becomes clear that many of the actors examined in the interwar literature argued for various forms of European cooperation inspired both by their experience of the Great War in Europe and a form of existential fear that Europe might lose its position at the top of the geopolitical, civilisational and racial ladder. The chapter illustrates this complementary narrative by analysing the writings and projects of a number of interwar Europeanists, including both state and non-state actors. It will moreover demonstrate how colonies were an essential part of interwar European projects and how they continued to be so well up to decolonisation.